Deepfake was used: employee transferred $25 million to fraudsters after a video call with the alleged CFO of his company

A Hong Kong-based financier of an international company was tricked into transferring $25 million to fraudsters in a sophisticated scam involving the use of deepfake, reports CNN.

The fraudsters used the technology of deepfake to impersonate the company’s CFO during a video conference. The elaborate hoax used not only his image, but also several other alleged employees of the company, whose images were fabricated using the same facial recognition technology. This incident, reported by the Hong Kong police, highlights the growing sophistication of fraudulent schemes that use artificial intelligence to create realistic but fake images of people.

The financial officer initially suspected a phishing attempt when he received a message from a purported CFO discussing a secret transaction. However, the realism of the video call, with familiar faces and voices of his colleagues, made him put aside his doubts and make a significant financial transfer.

This case is one of several recent examples of the use of deepfake technology for fraudulent purposes, including manipulation of facial recognition systems to steal personal data. Hong Kong police have already made arrests related to such frauds.