Intesa Sanpaolo loses millions in deepfake AI voice scam

Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, was defrauded of tens of millions of euros using a deepfake AI voice, with about 36 million euros still missing. The fraud began in February when the head of the bank's private banking division received a WhatsApp message appearing to be from CEO Carlo Messina, followed by a call using AI to mimic a known lawyer's voice. Internal security systems detected the scheme, recovering nearly 60 million euros with authorities in China, Portugal, and Italy, while the rest was laundered into cryptocurrency. The private banking chief resigned in March for personal reasons, and Italian prosecutors are investigating, targeting a foreign suspect while urging banks to remain vigilant against similar attacks.