Fraudsters used a fake WhatsApp message and an AI-cloned voice to steal €95 million, about $108 million, from Fideuram, the private banking arm of Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo, according to Reuters.
The scheme began with a WhatsApp message to Fideuram’s then-chair that appeared to come from Intesa Sanpaolo’s chief executive, asking for urgent help with an overseas transaction. A follow-up phone call used an AI-generated voice imitating a senior lawyer at an associated law firm. Believing the requests were genuine, the chair instructed the finance department to make a series of transfers, mainly to accounts in China and Hong Kong.
Authorities have recovered about €53 million. Much of the rest was reportedly moved overseas and converted to cryptocurrency, and Milan prosecutors have placed a foreign national living outside Europe under investigation for suspected computer fraud.
Why it matters for every bank
The case shows how generative AI is turning classic CEO fraud into something far more convincing: the message looked right and the voice sounded right. In the United States, FinCEN’s alert on deepfake-enabled fraud schemes against financial institutions remains in force and lists red flags banks should watch for.
The strongest defense is procedural rather than technical. Require a second approver and an independent call-back to a known number for any large or unusual payment, however senior or urgent the request appears.
Sources: Biometric Update, citing Reuters.
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