Deepfake scammers managed to trick an employee of a multinational company into sending more than $25 million of company funds in an elaborate scam in which they posed as several company executives in an online video conference.
In a statement seen on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Acting Superintendent Baron Chan of the police’s Cyber Security Division said the incident began last month when the employee received a fake message from the company’s chief financial officer inviting them to a videocall. to discuss a confidential transaction.
The scammers used several spoofed company executives to convince the employee to send $25.5 million of company funds in 15 transactions to five bank accounts.
Chan said he believes the scammers took preview images of company executives to create fake impersonations.
“I believe the scammer downloaded videos in advance and then used artificial intelligence to add fake voices to use in the video conference,” Chan said. “The people on the video conference seemed like real people,” she stressed.
The employee only became aware of the scam after consulting with company headquarters.
The police involved said it was the first case of its kind in Hong Kong amid a sharp rise in deepfake scams in the region.
“We want to alert the public about these new deception tactics,” Chan stressed.
“We can see in this case that scammers can use AI technology in online meetings, so people should be alert even in meetings with many participants.”
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The Cyber Security Division is part of the Hong Kong police. Their task is to combat technological crimes and ensure that citizens remain safe online. Last year, part of this effort involved launching a metaverse platform in May to prepare its citizens for “future challenges in the digital age,” with a focus on preventing technological crimes.
Deepfakes have also recently drawn the attention of US lawmakers following the widespread circulation of fake photos of Taylor Swift. In particular, US Representative Joe Morelle wants to criminalize the production of deepfake images in his country.
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