Associated Incidents
Several prominent Italian businessmen have been the victims of a sophisticated scam in which criminals used an artificial intelligence-generated voice to pretend to be the defense minister, Guido Crosetto.
The defense minister's voice tried to convince the businessmen to transfer large sums of money abroad under the pretext of freeing kidnapped journalists.
Among those targeted were figures such as designer Giorgio Armani, former Inter Milan owner Massimo Moratti and Prada co-founder Patrizio Bertelli, as well as members of billionaire families, according to Italian media.
The scammers called the businessmen using an advanced voice imitation of Crosetto and his staff, asking for the transfer of around 1 million euros to a bank account in Hong Kong. Suspicions arose when a major Italian investor contacted Crosetto to verify the authenticity of the request. The minister denied any involvement and alerted the authorities.
Another entrepreneur, who did not know Crosetto personally, was already tricked into transferring a considerable sum after speaking to someone he believed to be the Italian official. Crosetto later went public with the scam to prevent other victims.
Italian police are investigating the case and are looking into the methods used by the scammers, including the possibility of using a real-time AI voice filter. The incident comes shortly after the release of journalist Cecilia Sala from Iranian detention, raising suspicions about the timing of the scammers.