Italian police recover €1 million stolen through deepfake scam

In Italy, unknown fraudsters used artificial intelligence to create a fake voice of Defense Minister Guido Croze and to extort large sums of money from businessmen. The only victim of the scam was former Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti, who transferred 1 million euros to the fraudsters.

Police managed to recover the stolen funds. The fraudsters used artificial intelligence to impersonate the voice of the Italian Defense Minister and called influential businessmen to convince them to donate money to free journalists from alleged captivity. Among the victims of this scam were celebrities such as Giorgio Armani, Patrizio Bertelli, Marco Tronchetti Provera, representatives of the Beretta family, the Areotti family and Diego della Valle. However, only Moratti believed the fraudulent scheme and paid a total of 1 million euros twice. The police found the money in a Dutch account and froze it. Guido Croze himself confirmed this on social media and praised the work of law enforcement. The investigation is ongoing and investigators are trying to identify the fraudsters.

Deepfake technology and artificial intelligence are increasingly being used in cyber fraud. Governments and law enforcement agencies around the world are warning about the dangers of audio and video manipulations that can be used for financial fraud. The use of deepfake in cybercrime is a growing threat, especially in the political and economic spheres.

• This incident once again highlights the risks associated with deepfake technology and the need to strengthen digital security measures. Italian police managed to recover the stolen funds, but the scam itself shows that even the most influential individuals can become victims of cyber attacks.