A payment can pass every check and still be the product of manipulation. The account name matches, the customer insists they know the recipient, and the bank’s warning is brushed aside. According to Vivox AI, that gap between a valid transaction and a deceived customer is where financial institutions most urgently need to act.

Speaking at an event from QUBE Events’, Vivox AI founder and CEO Tim Khamzin moderated the session, joined by Revolut’s Natalia Gburzyńska, Bank of China (UK)’s Pallavi Kapale, Wise’s John Sudbury and Alvarez & Marsal’s Anne Markey, all speaking in a personal capacity.

Gburzyńska described scammers as “emotional illusionists” who exploit trust, fear and distraction.

Gburzyńska also noted that “Urgency is the absolute enemy of due diligence.”

Vivox AI notes the practical consequence: a warning delivered once a customer is emotionally committed often fails. A delay of a few hours can break a scammer’s momentum, while unexpected questions, such as whether anyone has told the customer to mislead the bank, can disrupt a rehearsed script. For romance and investment scams, a conversation with trained staff may be essential.

Kapale, senior financial crime officer in the FIU at Bank of China (UK), recalled a customer in Spain sending money to a supposed military boyfriend. By the time the receiving account was examined, she had lost £65,000 over six months. Confirmation of Payee could not have exposed the lie, because a matching name says nothing about a relationship’s authenticity.

Sudbury, threat intelligence lead at Wise, argued for kill-chain mapping, moving detection earlier by watching for behavioural shifts such as unusual app activity or changes in voice cadence.

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