Deepfake suspicion: Criminals steal millions of dollars with fake video conferences

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Video conference (symbolic image): Criminals are said to have impersonated several participants

Photo: Alistair Berg / Getty Images

The so-called “boss scam,” in which criminals pose as high-ranking managers in order to arrange large money transfers, is constantly finding new victims. As a case from Hong Kong shows, perpetrators are now also using videos that may be based on artificial intelligence (AI).

As the "South China Morning Post" reports, among others, the police in Hong Kong have published details of a current case in which criminals stole the equivalent of more than 23 million euros. They are said to have faked an entire video conference with the CFO of an unnamed international company.

Video conference from the test tube

Since the technology used is apparently not capable of imitating real people in real time, the previously unknown fraudsters are said to have used a multi-stage approach. According to the police, you first sent an email announcing the million-dollar transfer. The employee still had considerable doubts. However, these were brushed aside when the person concerned was subsequently invited to a video conference, in which several colleagues appeared to be present in addition to the company's London-based CFO. This meeting was about the unusual payments.

Investigators believe it was a pre-recorded video because the target could not speak directly to the participants. According to the police, YouTube videos or internal company recordings could have served as a template for AI-generated moving images, which were also supplemented with AI-generated voices. It is also possible that the voices were simply faked and the videos were taken over unchanged.

Further messages via instant messenger seemingly confirmed the incident. The fraudsters are said to have tried the scam on several company employees. The company only discovered the fraud a week after the money had been transferred to five accounts in Hong Kong.

Police have not yet identified any suspects and are advising companies to prepare for similar attacks. In this way, employees could ask specific questions to ensure that they are actually speaking to their superiors.

Investigators in Hong Kong are also using AI technology in other scams, CNN reports . According to this, criminals were able to successfully use stolen ID cards for loan applications by imitating the people they stole from and thus outsmarting automated facial recognition. The first arrests are said to have taken place here.

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