Fraudsters Use AI-Cloned Voices to Steal €95 Million from Italian Bank Unit
Fraudsters used artificial intelligence to impersonate senior executives and took €95 million from Fideuram, the private banking arm of Italy's largest lender Intesa Sanpaolo. About €36 million is still missing.
Fraudsters using artificial intelligence (AI) to imitate the voices of a bank chief and a lawyer have stolen €95 million from Fideuram, the private banking division of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest lender. The news agency Reuters reported the case, citing internal sources. More than half of the money has been recovered, but around €36 million is still unaccounted for. The case shows that AI voice imitation is being used against major financial institutions.
How the scheme unfolded
It began in February. Paolo Molesini, then chairman of Fideuram, received a WhatsApp message from Carlo Messina, chief executive of Intesa Sanpaolo, asking for urgent help with a foreign transaction. The fraudsters then made a phone call that appeared to come from a senior partner at a prominent law firm, to confirm the details. According to the sources, the callers used AI technology to mimic the lawyer's voice.
Believing the request to be genuine, Molesini instructed the bank's finance department to arrange a series of transfers to overseas accounts, mainly in China and Hong Kong.
Recovery and investigation
Fideuram quickly detected irregularities in the transfers and alerted banks and authorities in several countries. Thanks to cooperation between institutions in China, Portugal and Italy, about €53 million was later recovered. The rest has not been found after being moved through a network of foreign accounts and converted into cryptocurrencies.
The sources said no investigation is targeting Molesini or any other Fideuram executive. However, Milan prosecutors have opened an investigation into a foreign national living outside Europe on suspicion of computer fraud. Molesini stepped down as chairman in March for personal reasons; the bank gave no further explanation at the time.
A similar case last year
Last year, fraudsters used AI to imitate the voice of an Italian minister and persuaded businessman Massimo Moratti to transfer almost €1 million to a foreign account. That money was later recovered.
