"I Thought It Was the CEO"... AI Voice Scam Costs Companies

A criminal group utilized generative AI to clone the voices of corporate CEOs and lawyers, successfully defrauding multiple companies across the United States and Europe of $129 million. The scheme, which operated for over a year and a half, involved sophisticated social engineering tactics that exploited internal corporate communication channels.

What happened

The perpetrators initiated their attacks by sending emails to accounting and finance employees, masquerading as CEOs to announce a confidential financial transaction. Following the initial contact, the group used AI voice-cloning technology to call the employees, providing instructions to execute urgent wire transfers. To add a layer of legitimacy, an accomplice posing as a lawyer from a major firm would contact the employee to finalize the transfer process. In some instances, the group utilized deepfake video avatars modeled on the CEOs to further deceive their targets.

The group employed a handwritten script titled "Lawyer Call," which utilized regulatory terminology and warnings about insider trading risks to pressure employees into silence and immediate action. The impact was significant: a hospital chain in Missouri lost $4.8 million, a UK fintech company lost $11.6 million, a Florida pet food company lost $5.2 million, and a Massachusetts mutual fund manager lost $4.6 million.

Three individuals—Sharon Hazan, Guy Sitrit, and Jacob Sol—were indicted in the United States on charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. Investigators discovered that the stolen funds were converted into cryptocurrency to facilitate laundering. Experts note that modern technology now allows for voice cloning with less than a minute of audio, making it increasingly difficult for employees to distinguish between authentic and synthetic communications.