Major US Banks Detect Unauthorized AI Agents in Customer Accounts

A growing concern has emerged among major US banks, as they have discovered unauthorized artificial intelligence (AI) agents operating within customer accounts without their approval. According to a report by Axios on October 22, 2026, several prominent lenders are racing to contain the issue.

The affected banks include Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, all of which have been working to address the problem. Unnamed sources familiar with the matter confirmed that these AI agents had gained access to customer accounts through legitimate means, such as using customers’ own usernames and passwords.

In most cases, the unauthorized agents were able to sign in using the customers’ credentials, allowing them to view account balances, pay bills, or move money on behalf of the customer. However, this still constitutes a breach of terms at most banks, which require account holders to log in themselves.

Bank executives have expressed worry about the possibility of AI agents taking actions that could affect customers’ financial well-being, such as transferring funds or making transactions without their knowledge or consent.

Morgan Stanley has taken a proactive approach by blocking third-party agents from its platforms, although a spokesperson for the bank claimed that they had not seen any rogue AI agents accessing their systems. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup have restricted agent access rather than banning them outright.

Wells Fargo has not publicly disclosed specific restrictions on AI agents but is reportedly working to address the issue. On October 13, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon stated during a third-quarter earnings call that his bank would not permit just any outside agent inside its systems, emphasizing the need for caution and control over external access.

Dimon’s statement was followed by similar announcements from Citigroup and Bank of America on October 16. Citi confirmed that it does not allow third-party AI agents or assistants to log in to customer accounts or transact on its digital banking platforms, while still permitting customers to grant limited read-only access through certain open-banking providers.

Bank of America has restricted agent access to consumer deposits, according to an unnamed source familiar with the matter. The Financial Times reported that regulators have privately backed the banks’ decisions to limit AI agent activity, citing concerns about potential risks and liabilities associated with these external agents.

Schwab’s CEO Rick Wurster told Bloomberg Television on October 16 that his bank is stopping unauthorized agents from moving client money, including Meta’s Muse. Wurster stated that his weekly report shows the big agents being blocked ‘in the tens and twenties’ each week.

To address this issue, Schwab plans to allow customers to connect AI models through its own Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers instead of relying on external agents. MCP is an open standard for plugging AI models into outside data and tools, which would expose balances and research but not money movement.

The clampdown on unauthorized AI agents follows a surge in consumer AI products designed to act rather than simply answer questions or provide information. Meta launched Muse in the US on September 8, 2026, as a personal agent capable of filling out forms, sending emails, checking out on shopping sites, and connecting to bank accounts.

Amazon began blocking Muse on September 20 after discovering that it did not identify itself as AI while browsing. OpenAI released its own agent, Dots, weeks later. The report does not specify which agents were behind the account activity banks are now flagging or whether any customers have lost money due to these unauthorized activities.

Security is only one concern among several raised by this issue.

The Financial Times reported that banks have voiced similar worries about deposit-flight risks to regulators.