The Apple homepod on display. Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
"Big banks and financial companies have started to offer banking through virtual assistants — Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Assistant — in a way that will allow customers to check their balances, pay bills and, in the near future, send money just with their voice," AP's Ken Sweet reports.
The problem: "Virtual assistants and smart speakers are still relatively new technologies, and potentially susceptible to being exploited by cyber criminals. ... All banks require the use of a four-digit PIN before they will provide balance and bank account info over these speakers, and suggest making those PINs different from the one on a customer’s ATM card."