A mystery novelist explains that AI-powered deepfakes…

In 2024, a finance officer at a Hong Kong engineering company fell victim to a sophisticated fraud scheme involving the use of generative AI. The employee was invited to a video conference by an individual posing as the company's Chief Financial Officer, ultimately leading to a significant financial loss.

What happened

The target was invited to a video conference under the pretense of a legitimate business meeting. During the call, the employee interacted with individuals they believed to be their CFO and other colleagues. The technology used to generate the faces and voices of the participants was so realistic that the employee was completely convinced of their authenticity. Following the instructions provided during this meeting, the finance officer transferred 200 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately 3.8 billion yen) to an external account. It was later discovered that every participant in the video conference was a synthetic persona generated using deepfake technology. This incident highlights the growing threat of targeted social engineering where AI-synthesized media is used to bypass internal verification and exploit human trust.