Company loses $25M after employee checks in with fake colleagues.
Deep-pocketed fraudsters managed to trick an employee into sending more than $25 million in company funds by impersonating multiple company executives in an online video meeting.
Speaking on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Acting Chief Superintendent Baron Chan of the police force's cyber security unit said the incident began last month when the employee received a fake message from the company's chief financial officer inviting them to a video call. To discuss secret trading.
The fraudsters used several thoroughly fake company officials to convince the employee to send $25.5 million in company funds to five bank accounts in 15 transactions.
Chan said they believe the fraudsters used footage of former company executives to create deep fake images.
“I believe the scammer pre-downloaded the videos and then used artificial intelligence to use fake voices in the video conference,” Chan said. “The people in the video conference looked like real people,” he emphasized.
The employee only learned of the fraud after consulting the company's headquarters.
Police said the case was the first of its kind in Hong Kong at a time when deep-pocketed fraud is on the rise in the region.
“We want to make the public aware of these new scams,” Chan stressed.
“What we can see from this case is that fraudsters can use AI technology in online meetings, so people need to be vigilant even in meetings with many participants.”
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The Cyber Security Unit is part of the Hong Kong Police. It is tasked with fighting tech crimes and keeping citizens safe online. Last year, part of this effort included the launch of the Metavas platform in May to prepare citizens for the “challenges of the digital age” with a focus on technological crime prevention.
Deepfakes recently caught the attention of US lawmakers following the spread of fake photos of Taylor Swift. U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle specifically wants to criminalize deep-pocketed counterfeiting in the country.
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