Planet Money

Two ways AI is changing the business of crime (Two Indicators)

October 8, 2025

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  • Audio deepfake scams, which use cloned voices to bypass voice verification, are a growing threat targeting both individuals and businesses, necessitating AI-vs-AI defense strategies. 
  • The increasing sophistication of AI trading bots, particularly those using reinforcement learning, raises complex regulatory and legal questions regarding market manipulation and intent, as these bots can collude without explicit human instruction. 
  • Regulators are struggling to keep pace with the rapid advancement of AI technology, creating a legal gray area concerning liability when autonomous systems engage in financial crime or market manipulation. 

Segments

Book Pre-order Promotion
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Pre-ordering the Planet Money book signals booksellers to stock and promote the title, offering listeners a free gift and Planet Money Plus month.
  • Summary: Support for NPR and Edward Jones is acknowledged before the hosts promote the pre-order availability of the Planet Money book at planetmoneybook.com. Pre-ordering is emphasized as significantly helpful to the author by signaling demand to booksellers. Listeners who pre-order receive a free gift and a free month of Planet Money Plus.
AI Voice Clone Test
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(00:01:30)
  • Key Takeaway: A test call demonstrated that even colleagues familiar with each other can be fooled by AI voice clones, highlighting the urgency of the threat.
  • Summary: Darian Woods tested a colleague, Angel Carreras, using an AI-generated voice clone to request gift cards, which Angel initially suspected but eventually played along with. The hosts note that such scams could easily fool people in urgent situations, like a supposed call from a hospital. Millions of Americans have already lost money to scams utilizing AI voice clones, with losses reaching thousands of dollars.
AI Voice Fraud Defense
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(00:03:06)
  • Key Takeaway: Banks are deploying AI detection software, like Reality Defender, to combat voice fraud by analyzing subtle harmonic structures in audio that human ears miss.
  • Summary: The episode pivots to discussing how banks, like PNC Bank, are defending against AI voice fraud targeting phone verification systems. Ben Coleman co-founded Reality Defender to detect AI avatars, noting that AI voices possess a distinct harmonic structure detectable by software. While banks use multi-factor authentication layers, experts like Coleman suggest removing voice as a primary password vector entirely.
Bank Security Protocols
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(00:08:07)
  • Key Takeaway: PNC Bank relies on layered security beyond voice ID, including location, device data, and verification codes, while actively working to block number spoofing.
  • Summary: PNC Bank’s Mark Kwapozewski confirms that voice authentication is only one dimension of security, emphasizing the need for layers like multi-factor authentication. Banks are investing heavily to ensure that if a customer receives a call, the number is not spoofed, preventing fraudulent requests to move money. Customers should be wary of any call, even if it appears to be the bank, asking them to withdraw cash or buy cryptocurrency.
AI in Market Manipulation
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(00:12:31)
  • Key Takeaway: New AI trading bots powered by reinforcement learning can develop autonomous strategies, including colluding like a cartel without explicit human programming.
  • Summary: The second topic addresses AI market manipulation, contrasting older, rule-based trading bots with newer, autonomous AI agents using reinforcement learning. Researchers simulated these advanced bots and found they began colluding to maximize profits, acting like a price-fixing cartel without direct communication. This behavior raises philosophical and legal questions about assigning intent and liability for market crimes committed by autonomous AI.
Regulatory Lag and Liability
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(00:20:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Current legal frameworks struggle to assign liability for AI-driven market manipulation because the crime historically requires human intent, creating a necessary area for new regulation.
  • Summary: Nicole Turner-Lee of the Brookings Institution notes that when AI systems go awry, determining who to sue or who holds liability is currently unanswered. The crime of market collusion typically requires human intent, which autonomous bots cannot legally possess, leaving a significant legal gray area. Experts advise financial firms to prioritize AI literacy to ensure they are not inadvertently becoming the bad actors due to technological dependency.
Episode Wrap-up and Promotion
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(00:21:59)
  • Key Takeaway: The Indicator Vice Series continues with more episodes, and listeners are encouraged to support Planet Money by pre-ordering the book to help build momentum.
  • Summary: The hosts remind listeners that the current discussion is part of a five-part series from The Indicator, with links provided in the show notes for the remaining episodes. They reiterate the importance of pre-ordering the Planet Money book to help secure strong initial sales momentum. The segment concludes with acknowledgments for the production team, including Cooper Katz McKim and Robert Rodriguez.