Finance employee loses $25 million to deepfake video call fraud in Hong Kong

Summary

In 2023, a finance employee in Hong Kong was deceived into transferring $25 million during a deepfake video conference call. The scam involved scammers using deepfake technology to impersonate the company's chief financial officer and other colleagues. The employee, working for a multinational firm, followed instructions during the fake call to transfer funds to five Hong Kong bank accounts. The fraud was discovered only after the employee verified the transaction with the company's head office. This incident highlights the growing threat of deepfake scams, which are becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect.