London: A finance worker has been tricked into paying $39 million to scammers by a “deepfake” video call featuring AI versions of his co-workers, police in Hong Kong have said.
The employee transferred the money ($HK200 million) to the criminals after they used artificial intelligence software to imitate his superiors, including his UK-based chief financial officer.
Everybody on the video call apart from the victim was a fake representation of a real person, police said.
Real or realistic? Workers now need to also be alert to the possibility of deepfake impersonation in video calls.Credit: Istock
The case is believed to be one of the largest financial scams to date featuring deepfake technology.
The company and the individual affected have not been named.
Hong Kong police said they were making the case public because it was the first of its kind involving multiple fake people on a call.
“This time, in a multi-person video conference, it turns out that everyone you see is fake,” acting Senior Superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching said, according to the South China Morning Post.
The employee, who transferred the sum in 15 transactions involving five bank accounts, was suspicious when he received an email purporting to be from his chief financial officer, police said.
Multiple people at the company were reportedly targeted with the phishing message.
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