Charm Security secures $8M Seed round to stop AI-powered scams before they happen
With fraud tactics evolving, the startup’s AI agents intervene at critical moments.
The rising threat of AI-powered financial scams has given fraudsters an unprecedented advantage, fueling a global crisis that cost over $1 trillion in 2023 alone. Now, Charm Security, an Israeli startup emerging from stealth, is aiming to counter this escalating cybercrime with an AI-driven platform designed to protect consumers and financial institutions from social engineering fraud. The company announced an $8 million Seed round led by Team8.
Charm’s co-founders, CEO Roy Zur and Chief Technology Officer Avichai Ben, bring deep expertise in cybersecurity and AI. Zur, a former senior officer in Israel’s Cyber Intelligence Unit 8200 and a veteran fraud prevention expert, has spent two decades tackling cybercrime. Ben, previously a data science lead at Transmit Security and Microsoft, has played a key role in developing AI-driven fraud detection systems for major enterprises.
“Scammers are evolving at an unprecedented pace, using AI to deceive customers before traditional fraud systems can intervene,” Zur said. “We are on a mission to break the ‘scam spell’ by leveraging AI-powered real-time interventions and psychological insights to protect users when they need it most.”
Financial fraud has shifted from direct system exploitation to sophisticated human-targeted schemes, with scammers increasingly relying on AI-generated voice and text to deceive victims. According to a recent report by Team8, AI-powered scams have become a trillion-dollar industry, forcing regulators to reconsider liability rules for financial institutions—particularly in cases of authorized push payment (APP) fraud, where victims are tricked into transferring funds voluntarily.
Traditional fraud prevention systems, which rely on post-transaction analysis, often fail to address real-time manipulation. Charm Security aims to fill this gap by analyzing human vulnerability patterns and intervening at critical moments before a scam is executed. The company’s AI-powered agents assess risk levels and deploy real-time countermeasures, effectively disrupting scams in progress.
“AI-driven scams and social engineering fraud that preys on human vulnerabilities have escalated into a trillion-dollar problem, demanding a fundamental shift in fraud prevention,” said Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, Managing Partner at Team8 and former CEO of Bank Leumi. “Charm Security’s approach empowers organizations to protect their customers and navigate evolving regulatory expectations.”
The newly secured funding will support Charm’s efforts to expand its team, accelerate product development, and forge partnerships to increase adoption of its fraud prevention platform.
