Fraudsters used AI-generated deepfake audio to impersonate CEOs and trick companies into wiring $4.5 million.
Elena Rodriguez, CFO of a mid-sized tech firm in Barcelona, received a call from “her CEO” urging an urgent transfer of €500,000 to a Hungarian supplier. The voice was a deepfake of her boss, Lukas Weber, cloned from a TED Talk. The scam was orchestrated by Nikolai Volkov (29, Russian hacker), who targeted 18 companies using LinkedIn research and voice-mimicking software.
Victims:
TechNova Inc. (Berlin): Lost $1.1 million in a similar deepfake invoice scam.
Sarah Jennings, 44 (Sydney, AU): Fell for a fake “CFO emergency” call, losing $320,000.
How It Was Tackled:
Analyzed blockchain transfers to trace funds to a Moscow crypto exchange.
Partnered with Europol to shut down Volkov’s phishing toolkit, “VoiceForge.”
Outcome: Volkov arrested in Armenia; $1.9 million recovered.