Scammers in Hong Kong Used Deepfakes To Steal $25.6M USD
The scammers created false identities of a company’s employees.
Scammers stole $25.6 million USD ( $200 million Hong Kong dollars) from a multinational finance firm using deepfake technology, CNN reported.
Hong Kong police were contacted about a case where scammers used a deepfake of the firm’s chief financial officer to appear as him in a video call. An employee had already been contacted by the scammers about secretive financial transactions.
While the employee may have been suspicious initially, the scammers invited the employee to a video call, where other members of the company staff were present, including the CFO. It turned out that every individual present in the call, save for the lone employee, was a deep fake.
The fake CFO then instructed the employee to make 15 separate financial transfers, totaling $25.6 million USD. It wasn’t until a week later that the employee realized it was a scam after speaking to his colleagues.
Police believe that the deepfakes were created using photos and videos of the company’s staff. So far, six people have been arrested in conjunction with the crime and an investigation is ongoing. It’s believed that the scammers have created deepfakes of at least 20 individuals.
