Scammers in Italy defrauded businessmen "with the voice" of the Minister of Defense

^{Photo: AP}
Scammers have used artificial intelligence technology to impersonate Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and attempt to extort money, La Repubblica reports.

The criminals allegedly called Italian businessmen on behalf of Crosetto and other ministry officials, trying to persuade them to transfer money to foreign bank accounts. They said the money was needed to free Italians held hostage in Syria and Iran.

In addition to deepfakes, the scammers also called from numbers that resembled those of the Defense Ministry. According to Italian media, such calls were made to fashion designer Giorgio Armani, the chairman of the board of directors of the Prada fashion house Patrizio Bertelli, the top manager of the Pirelli tire manufacturer Marco Tronchetti Provere, as well as the billionaire former owner of the Inter football club Massimo Moratti.

According to the Financial Times, at least one of the victims transferred 1 million euros to the scammers. According to Italian media, the scammers took advantage of the widespread news about the release of journalist Cecilia Sala from an Iranian prison in January.

Fraudsters often use deepfakes to create people's voices and images. According to Sumsub, the use of such technology by scammers has increased by 700 percent in 2023. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”