Deepfake AI scammers steal $26 million by impersonating company lead

Scammers using deepfake AI technology were able to steal $26 million from a major multinational corporation by impersonating the Chief Financial Officer in a video call.

Technology has come a long way in recent years. Not only do we have innovations like the Apple Vision Pro, but technology has become heavily integrated into our everyday lives, being something we rely on in our day to day.

The same can be said for software, with leaps and bounds in technology coming up with new AI streamers, art, and even voices. Of course, these have all come with their own handful of criticism, with many critiquing that this new form of technology will be more harmful than helpful.

Now a new example of the misuse of technology has come in the form of a major scam that saw $26 million being stolen from a major multinational company.

AI deepfake scammers steal $26 million using fake video call

The scammers reportedly used deepfake AI technology to impersonate the company’s CFO. Impersonating the CFO and other colleagues, the scammer invited a financial worker to a company meeting, where they were instructed to make 15 transactions for 5 local bank accounts.

This totaled $200 million Hong Kong dollars, which is equivalent to about $26 million USD.

According to police senior superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching, “the fraudster downloaded videos in advance, and then used artificial intelligence to add fake voices within the video conference.”

The scam itself began in January, with the worker receiving a private message from the company’s UK-based CFO, inviting him to a video call to discuss a confidential transaction. Once the video call was over and the transactions were made, the worker called the company head office, only realizing then the major mistake they had made.

This news comes alongside the recent deepfakes made of pop star Taylor Swift, showcasing the danger of this ever-improving technology.