AI fraudsters

A fraudster used a WhatsApp voice message and an AI-cloned voice on a phone call to convince Fideuram, the asset management arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, to transfer 95 million euros. The scam is described as a new form of business email compromise, where deepfake audio lets attackers impersonate executives with convincing accuracy. The case is drawing attention to how easily AI voice cloning can defeat verification procedures at even major financial institutions.

Fraudsters using artificial intelligence have stolen €95 million from the private banking arm of Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo, in one of the largest reported AI-enabled thefts from a European bank. The story is circulating alongside separate Swiss news, with Switzerland's finance minister casting doubt on suggestions that UBS could leave the country, keeping both items in financial headlines.

Fraudsters are exploiting artificial intelligence together with information from published obituaries to impersonate deceased people or relatives and con grieving loved ones out of money. The scams use personal details from death notices to sound convincing, often through phone calls or messages created with AI voice cloning. Reports warn families to verify any unexpected requests and be cautious about sharing personal details in public obituaries.

Federal prosecutors say a man who used artificial intelligence to generate fake music and fraudulently collect streaming royalties deserves prison time, arguing he stole income from hard-working songwriters. The case, reported by Billboard, is being closely watched as one of the first major prosecutions involving AI-generated content used to game music royalty systems.

Federal prosecutors are asking for a sentence of nearly four years in prison for a man accused of using artificial intelligence to generate massive volumes of fake music and streaming it billions of times, fraudulently collecting millions of dollars in royalties. The scheme is described as one of the first major criminal cases involving AI-generated content exploiting the music industry's royalty system.

Reports describe a wave of AI-powered scams in which fraudsters use cloned voices and deepfakes to trick people into transferring money from their own accounts. Because the transfers appear to be authorized by the account holder, banks are refusing to reimburse victims, leaving many with no recourse and raising pressure for stronger fraud protections.

The Economist reports that the AI boom is being exploited for a new kind of cryptocurrency scam. Fraudsters are using hype around artificial intelligence to lure investors into fraudulent crypto schemes, continuing a pattern where each technology frenzy attracts new financial cons. The report highlights growing concern over investment fraud riding on AI enthusiasm.