Scammers have defrauded a multinational company of around 26 million dollars using deepfake technology to impersonate senior executives of the company, the Hong Kong police announced on Sunday, in one of the first cases of its kind in the city. Deepfake is a video or audio recording created or modified using artificial intelligence. It carries the potential for misinformation and misuse, such as deepfake images showing people saying things they never said. “The investigations are still ongoing and no arrests have been made so far,” the police said, without disclosing the name of the company.
“The scammers found publicly accessible videos and audios via YouTube, then used deepfake technology to mimic their voices… to persuade the victim to follow their instructions,” Chan told reporters. The deepfake videos were pre-recorded and did not involve any dialogue or interaction with the victim, he added.