How AI Deepfakes Are Changing the Rules of Crime Fiction…
A finance employee at a Hong Kong engineering firm was defrauded of over 25 million dollars after attending a video call with deepfake versions of company…
- Incident date
- Jan 2024
- Target
- an engineering company in Hong Kong
In 2024, a finance employee at an engineering company in Hong Kong was targeted by a sophisticated cyberattack involving artificial intelligence. The employee joined a video conference believing they were meeting with legitimate colleagues, including the company's Chief Financial Officer.
What happened
During the meeting, the finance employee interacted with multiple individuals they recognized as coworkers. Unbeknownst to the employee, every other participant on the video call was a deepfake. The scammers utilized AI-generated imagery and audio to convincingly impersonate the CFO and other staff members. Following the instructions provided during this fraudulent call, the employee executed fifteen separate financial transfers. The total amount stolen exceeded twenty-five million dollars. The funds were sent to accounts controlled by the scammers and were never recovered. No arrests were made in connection with the incident.