Deepfake video call fraud of $25 million

In early 2024, a finance employee at a Hong Kong multinational firm was defrauded of $25.6 million USD (HKD 200 million) during a video conference call. Every participant in the call — including the "CFO" — was an AI deepfake recreation of real colleagues. The employee was initially suspicious of an email requesting the transfer, but the convincing deepfake video call erased doubts. The scam was discovered only when the employee contacted company headquarters afterward. Hong Kong police arrested 6 people and found deepfakes had been used in at least 20 attempts to bypass facial recognition systems.