With agentic AI still in its early stages, banks have a narrow but valuable window to build capabilities that could provide a lasting defensive advantage. How agentic AI could industrialise financial crimesFinancial scams and fraud are already a major problem today, with scams alone costing consumers and businesses around $442 billion annually, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance . And the most disruptive shift still lies ahead – the rise of agentic AI capable of automating scams from start to finish. Design ‘fire breaks’: Banks should prepare for periods when fraud and scam activity spikes and normal operating processes come under strain. “The transition to agentic scams and fraud is unlikely to be gradual – it could happen faster than many institutions expect.