Houston expert discusses AI use in banking and phishing scams

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AI carries security risks in banking, including being used by scammers to target financial information. Photo via Getty Images

With artificial intelligence technologies easily accessible and growing in popularity, consumers and business owners alike should be aware of both the benefits and risks when it comes to the utilization of generative AI tools in banking and finance. While data-driven AI creates the opportunity to further drive innovation in banking, the data-reliant nature of the industry makes it a natural target for scammers looking to intercept personal and business finances and sensitive customer information.

As banks and other financial service providers are using AI as a tool to scan for anomalies or errors that are known fraud techniques, criminals are using AI to improve their chances of perpetrating fraud. For this reason, consumers and businesses should guard their data with the same diligence used to guard cash and other valuable physical property.

Privacy and accuracy

For entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes, it is important to keep in mind the practical applications of AI beyond the trending headlines, whether implementing the technology into everyday internal business practices, or into client-facing solutions.

When feeding information into AI, it is best to maintain a defensive position and be proactive about not disclosing sensitive or private information. Also, rely on sound judgment when deciding when and how to use AI technologies. From a business standpoint, privacy should be embedded into a financial system’s design and leaders should be transparent about the technologies used within a given system.

Technologies like ChatGPT are large language models operating on massive datasets, including documents and web pages across the internet. This poses a risk because some sources of this data lack accuracy. When seeking financial advice via AI technologies, it is best to conduct research by curating and limiting the dataset then talking through your unique financial position in person with your trusted banker and IT staff or consultants.

Phishing and business email compromise via AI

Historically, phishing and business email compromise, or BEC, attempts have been more easily recognizable and often flushed out due to grammatical errors and unnecessary punctuation. With technologies like ChatGPT, scammers are now better equipped to draft well written content that can fool a person into thinking a communication is legitimate. Phishing can lead to people clicking links or attachments that harbor malware or other viruses that can lead to account takeover. With BEC, a person might be fooled into thinking an email is from a legitimate person. Scams like these could potentially lead to the disclosing of sensitive information or accepting transaction instructions or changes, ultimately resulting in money being sent to a fraudster.

AI voice generators

AI voice generators can be used to mimic voices of anyone including bankers, C-suite leaders and customers. If a person is fooled into believing they have received a voicemail or are talking to a person they know, they may accept instructions from a fraudster like providing transaction approvals and sensitive or private information, resulting in fraud.

AI can also create fake identities, including AI-developed photos of individuals, and other false information. These fake identities could be used to create accounts for fraudulent purposes.

AI is here to stay

AI is forecasted to have a lasting impact on the banking industry. Whether on the business or consumer side of the spectrum, it will be important to embrace the innovation and enhancements generative AI will continue to produce, while maintaining a cautionary stance around protecting client and business information and finances. Fraud prevention practices will need to continue evolving alongside the fast-paced growth of generative AI in banking.

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Ken Smiley is treasury management division manager of Amegy Bank and a fraud protection expert.

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Houston cleantech, space startups named to World Economic Forum cohort

top honor

Two Houston-based startups have been selected to join the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers community.

The two-year program aims to help mission-driven, early-stage start-ups scale their innovations through multi-stakeholder initiatives, co-creating partnerships and other gatherings for community members. One-hundred startups are selected each year from around the globe, this year hailing from 23 countries and working in AI, energy, space, biotech markets and more.

Cleantech startup Vaulted Deep was one of 11 energy and climate companies to be named to the cohort. Julia Reichelstein and Omar Abou-Sayed founded the company in 2023. Its technology injects excess organic waste underground to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Last year, Vaulted Deep inked a 12-year deal with Microsoft to remove up to 4.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the environment.

The startup has earned several accolades in recent years, including a No. 3 spot on Fast Company’s list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026. It was also recently named to market intelligence and advisory firm Cleantech Group's annual Global Cleantech 100 list for a second year in a row.

"Waste management is one of the world's great invisible infrastructure systems ... The need for new infrastructure is growing as disposal challenges become more complex and regulations evolve. Vaulted is building the first new disposal pathway for organic waste in decades by putting it deep underground, permanently," the company shared in a LinkedIn post. "This year, we're joining the World Economic Forum's 2026 Tech Pioneers alongside innovators working on the many interconnected challenges shaping our future."

Houston-based Venus Aerospace was also selected to join the cohort, along with six other spacetech companies. The company was founded in 2020 by Sassie and Andrew Duggleby.

The startup specializes in next-generation rocket engine propulsion as a cleaner alternative to traditional combustion engines. The company's rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) burns fuel more efficiently and completed a successful high-thrust test flight last year. Venus says it’s the only company in the world that makes a flight-proven, high-thrust RDRE with a “clear path to scaled production.”

"Frontier technologies matter most when they expand what people, industries, and nations can do," Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and CEO of Venus, said in a news release. "For Venus, RDRE does not just represent a more efficient engine. It is a foundation for faster movement, more capable space systems, and new forms of connectivity across the planet. Being named a Technology Pioneer validates the potential of this technology to help shape a future where distance is less limiting."

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston Methodist receives record $110M gift, names future tower

historic gift

Houston Methodist has received the largest gift in the health system's history to establish new funds for neurological, neuroscience, and women’s health research and treatment.

The $110 million gift comes from Houston-based The Brockman Medical Research Foundation, which supports education and research in the science, medicine and healthcare fields. In response, Houston Methodist announced that it will name its forthcoming 26-story hospital facility the Brockman Centennial Tower.

The tower’s entrance will be named the Anna Margaret Bellows Centennial Hall to honor Anna Margaret Bellows, a young camper who died during the Camp Mystic flooding last summer.

“This extraordinary gift accelerates discovery and transforms how care is delivered,” Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, said in a news release. “We are grateful to The Brockman Medical Research Foundation for its incredible generosity and vision that will help change the lives of generations of patients. Naming Centennial Tower in recognition of this gift reflects the scale of this commitment and its impact on the future of neuroscience, neurological care and women’s health.”

The gift will be divided into two parts:

  • $100 million will go toward creating an innovation fund within the Houston Methodist Academic Institute and the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute
  • $10 million will be devoted to Houston Methodist's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

“This tremendous gift will accelerate translational research that broadens our understanding of neurological and other diseases,” Dr. Jenny Chang, president and CEO of the Houston Methodist Academic Institute, added in the release. “It will allow us to leverage state-of-the-art platforms to detect, diagnose and deliver therapeutics, keeping patient care at the center of our mission.”

The Brockman Centennial Tower is expected to open next year in the Texas Medical Center. Spanning more than 1 million square feet, it will house 400 patient beds, an expanded emergency department, new operating rooms and a rooftop garden. It will be connected to Houston Methodist's flagship Paula and Joseph C. “Rusty” Walter III Tower, which opened in 2018. The Centennial Tower was estimated to cost $1.4 billion when announced in 2022.

In addition to the news of the Brockman gift, Houston Methodist also announced this month that it has launched the Houston Methodist Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and tapped an internationally recognized scientist as its leader.

The new center is focused on discovering and developing innovative and cost-effective therapies for a variety of congenital and acquired diseases, including cancer, HIV and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Malcolm Brenner has been named as the center's inaugural leader and will assume the role starting in October. He will work alongside scientists and support staff from Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital.

Brenner is a professor of pediatrics, medicine, molecular and human genetics and translational biology at Baylor College of Medicine. He is known for making early advances in using bone marrow transplantation as a form of cell therapy and in engineered immune-cell treatments for cancer and infections, according to a release from Houston Methodist.

“Malcolm Brenner is a pioneer in the field of cell and gene therapy and is uniquely qualified to lead Houston Methodist’s research efforts in this field,” Chang added. “His vision and leadership will play a pivotal role in advancing our work in this space.”

Report: Houston reclaims top 10 ranking among America's best cities

Houston has made a triumphant return to America's 10 best cities for 2026, certifying the city is a cornerstone of the country's growth and economic prosperity.

Houston ranks No. 9 nationwide in the annual "America's Best Cities" report from Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing firm Resonance Consultancy. Each year, the report ranks the relative qualities of livability, cultural "lovability," and economic prosperity in 393 American cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more.

Dallas surpassed H-Town as the No. 8 best city in America, and the Lone Star State boasts a strong presence among the top 25. Austin and San Antonio, respectively, were named the 11th and 24th best American cities this year.

Previously, Houston was dubbed the 13th best American city in 2025, down from its No. 10 ranking in the 2024 report.

Rather than profiling each individual city like in past reports, the 2026 edition focuses on regional and state prosperity. Texas' economic dominance is second only to Florida's, and the state's growth is solidified by the Dallas-Houston-Austin "triangle," where each metro has its own distinct economic identity, but when combined "form one of the most formidable regional economies in the world."

"In our 2026 survey, Dallas ranks third nationally as the place Americans believe offers the best job opportunities, Austin fifth, and Houston seventh," the report's author wrote. "That concentration of perceived economic opportunity in a single state is unmatched, and the GDP data confirms it isn’t just perception."

After being named one of the best places to start a business or a career earlier in 2026, Houston has continued to punch above its weight with its success in tourism, education, and housing growth.

Overall, the report found a correlation between a city's population growth and its latest ranking, with bigger cities appearing higher up on the list. The top three best American cities — New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago — are coincidentally the three largest metros, while Dallas and Houston are the fourth and fifth largest but appear eighth and ninth on the list.

"Scale compounds at the large city level — more people generate more economic activity, more cultural infrastructure, more employer presence, which attracts more people," the report said.

The top 10 best cities in America for 2026 are:

  • No. 1 – New York
  • No. 2 – Los Angeles
  • No. 3 – Chicago
  • No. 4 – Miami
  • No. 5 – San Francisco
  • No. 6 – Seattle
  • No. 7 – Las Vegas
  • No. 8 – Dallas
  • No. 9 – Houston
  • No. 10 – Boston
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