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Cybersecurity expert Rishi Bhargava says consumers should be especially cautious before giving an AI agent access to email, account passwords, or payment information. These permissions can let an agent reset other accounts, act beyond a requested task, or spend money. Safer use means narrowly scoped permissions, separate agent identities, and human approval for irreversible actions.
The three account-access categories that deserve the most scrutiny
In an interview published by Tom’s Guide on October 14, 2026, Rishi Bhargava, co-founder of identity-security company Descope, identified three types of access that consumers should question before handing them to an AI agent:
| Access | Why it is high risk | Potential consequence |
|---|---|---|
| It is tied to password resets and can contain hostile instructions. | An agent could reset other accounts, forward messages, or disclose sensitive information. | |
| Account passwords and credentials | They may give the agent broad authority rather than permission for one task. | The agent could change settings, place orders, or take actions beyond your request. |
| Payment information | It enables transactions with immediate financial consequences. | The agent could make an unintended purchase or, in the worst case, transfer money. |
1. Email access can become a master key
Email is unusually powerful because many services use it for account recovery. An agent that can read your inbox may be able to follow a password-reset link for a bank, shopping account, social network, or workplace service. That turns one permission into a possible route into several unrelated accounts.
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Bhargava described the risk this way: “Giving an AI agent access to your email is practically giving it the keys to your digital life.” The concern is not limited to what the agent was asked to do. It also includes messages that arrive after you authorize it.
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Why email creates a prompt-injection risk
A malicious email can include instructions aimed at the agent, such as forwarding every message to another address or opening a dangerous link. This is a form of prompt injection: text supplied by an untrusted source attempts to influence the agent as though it were a legitimate instruction from you.
If an agent cannot reliably separate your instructions from commands embedded in email, a routine task such as finding a receipt could turn into an unauthorized disclosure or account change. Avoid granting inbox-wide access when a task can be completed with a single message, a downloaded attachment, or a manually supplied confirmation.
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2. Passwords can give an agent more authority than intended
Giving an agent a password, including through a password vault, can be very different from authorizing one bounded operation. Once authenticated, the agent may inherit whatever that account allows: changing profile details, adding devices, viewing private records, placing orders, or altering security settings.
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Prefer task-specific authorization
- Use a dedicated account or agent identity when a service supports one.
- Grant only the scopes needed for the stated task, such as read-only access or access to one project.
- Block password changes, recovery settings, and creation of new API keys unless they are essential and separately approved.
- Set short-lived sessions and revoke them when the task ends.
- Require a fresh human confirmation before deleting data, changing security settings, or sending messages.
3. Payment access can turn an error into a bill
Credit-card details, bank-account access, and other payment permissions create a direct financial risk. The interview notes that agents have already made purchases people did not intend. An agent may misunderstand a request, select the wrong item, or follow instructions hidden in a webpage or message.
Bhargava draws a firm line around transfers: “The one thing I would never let an agent do is wire money for me.” A wire transfer is difficult to reverse and can move a large amount quickly, so it should remain a human-only action.
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Safer ways to automate spending
- Use a limited-use virtual card or a low-balance payment method where available.
- Set transaction limits and merchant or category restrictions.
- Keep checkout approval manual, even if the agent performs product research and fills a cart.
- Turn on immediate transaction alerts so an unexpected charge is visible quickly.
- Never allow an agent to change the payment method, increase a spending limit, or initiate a wire transfer.
When an AI agent’s access becomes genuinely dangerous
The danger increases when an agent has broad permissions, can receive untrusted content, and can complete actions without a confirmation step. Examples include ordering an unintended product, resetting a password through an inbox, or changing an account in a way you did not anticipate.
There is also an unresolved accountability question: if an agent makes a costly mistake, responsibility may be disputed among the user, the agent provider, and the service that accepted the action. Until platforms provide clearer controls and audit trails, users should assume that they remain responsible for actions taken through their accounts.
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How to give an agent limited permissions
- Define the exact outcome. State what the agent may do and what it must not do. “Compare prices and summarize options” is safer than “buy the best one.”
- Choose the narrowest account or role. Use read-only, project-specific, or delegated access instead of a primary account whenever possible.
- Remove recovery and payment authority. Do not expose your main inbox, password-reset capability, stored cards, bank details, or transfer functions for a task that does not require them.
- Separate browsing from acting. Let the agent gather information, but require you to approve logins, purchases, account changes, and messages.
- Review the activity log. Check what the agent accessed and revoke the session, token, or credential when finished.
Which tasks are lower risk?
Product research and comparison are examples Bhargava considers useful lower-risk tasks because the agent gathers information without moving money or changing account state. The risk rises when the agent can submit an order, alter an account, or communicate externally without review.
| Task type | Typical exposure | Recommended control |
|---|---|---|
| Research and comparison | Mostly informational; webpages may still contain prompt-injection text. | Allow browsing, but do not grant checkout or account-edit permissions. |
| Inbox search or drafting | Access to private messages and potentially hostile instructions. | Use selected messages or folders and require approval before sending or forwarding. |
| Account maintenance | Can alter settings, credentials, or recovery options. | Use a restricted role and human confirmation for every security change. |
| Purchasing | Can create an immediate financial loss. | Keep payment entry and final submission under human control. |
| Money transfer | High-impact and potentially difficult to reverse. | Do not delegate wire transfers or equivalent payments. |
What safer agent design should look like
Bhargava argues that agents should have their own identities and only the permissions required for a task. Websites should be able to recognize when an agent is acting on a user’s behalf and apply controls appropriate to that agent.
“We shouldn’t have to give an agent complete control over an account just to complete a simple task,” he says. He also suggests that agent verification or certification could eventually help websites decide which agents to trust. At present, he describes agents as “essentially coming in through the window instead of the front door,” meaning that many services lack a standardized way to identify and constrain them.
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For now, treat an agent like a new third-party user: give it a separate identity, minimum necessary access, short-lived credentials, and a clear approval boundary. Keep email recovery, unrestricted passwords, stored payment details, and wire transfers outside that boundary unless there is an exceptional, well-understood reason to expose them.
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