"Account hacking is serious these days. You can't keep all your money in a checking account. Leave just $2,000 to $3,000 and move the rest to a savings account. Even if your checking account is hacked, they can't access your savings account. You can transfer money back to checking anytime."
At a bank branch in Santa Clara, California, on November 1 local time, a teller who pulled up the account was suddenly alarmed and recommended opening a savings account. The visit was originally to issue a card, but the teller insisted that opening a savings account should come first, citing the seriousness of personal account hacking. When asked whether hacking was common, the teller replied, "We frequently get customer reports of hacking these days." Among the reported cases was a victim who found their account balance completely drained after a small convenience store payment.
In the past, banks highlighted higher interest rates on savings accounts compared to checking accounts, but now the emphasis is shifting to security features. Earlier this year, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom drove tech stocks sharply higher, investors preferred equity investments over bank savings, and savings accounts received little attention. But amid growing anxiety over hacking, banks are now encouraging customers to open savings accounts by waiving fees for a limited period.
Cases of hacking damage are mounting on the US online community Reddit. On November 12, a post reported that a husband's mobile phone was hacked, leaving no money in the account. "It seems to have been caused by using an unsecured network, but I'm not sure. $5,000 was withdrawn and transferred out of the account. You can see the hacker sent back and forth 30 cents as a test before attempting the larger amount. I've contacted Wells Fargo and an investigation is underway. Will I get all my money back? Should I file a police report?" the anxious writer asked.
Financial hacking damage has been a headache for banks for years. Banks have offered preventive measures including: checking bank accounts frequently, blocking suspicious emails, using strong passwords, setting up alerts, keeping systems updated, being cautious when using public networks, immediately reporting suspicious charges to the bank, and not sharing personal information. But as hacking techniques grow more sophisticated and evolve, such countermeasures are becoming ineffective. Opening a savings account provides some security advantages over a regular checking account, but because it is linked to online banking, it cannot serve as a complete defense against hacking.
Analysts say the reason US banks and customers are paying particular attention to hacking lately is the emergence of "Mythos." Mythos is an AI model unveiled by Anthropic last month. Mythos boasts unprecedented security capabilities, detecting software bugs that had gone unnoticed for 27 years, but if misused for hacking, it could cause serious personal data leaks and system paralysis. Because of such concerns, Anthropic has provided limited Mythos previews only to select government agencies and major banks. Competitors such as OpenAI are expected to release Mythos-class models soon. The Donald Trump administration, which had been skeptical of AI regulation, is pushing for an AI pre-verification system largely because of the Mythos fallout.
Warnings are also mounting in the financial sector that the industry must prepare for the Mythos impact. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a Fox News interview on November 4, answered "Yes, they should worry" when asked whether Americans should worry about AI account hacking, urging financial firms and tech companies to respond to the threat as more Mythos-class models are likely to follow. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, also stressed at a financial event that advanced AI models can identify software vulnerabilities at rapid speed, making preparation necessary.
