Deepfake scammers trick Italian VIP out of €1M, police miraculously recover funds
In a stroke of luck (or just good police work), Italian authorities on Wednesday managed to recover a €1 million transaction sent to scammers who created an AI deepfake of Italy’s Defense Minister to target wealthy businessmen.
In a stroke of luck (or just good police work), Italian authorities on Wednesday managed to recover a €1 million transaction sent to scammers who created an AI deepfake of Italy’s Defense Minister to target wealthy businessmen.
The unknown scammers, who were said to have used an AI voice generator to create the deepfake, went after multiple high-profile Italians – yet, only one VIP, former owner of the Inter Milan soccer club Massimo Moratti, wound up falling for the ruse.
Investigators say the fraudsters used the AI vocals to impersonate the nation’s Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, asking the business leaders to donate funds to secure the release of non-existent journalists allegedly being held captive in the Middle East.
Apparently, the scammers – who told the victim he would be reimbursed by the Bank of Italy – received two separate payments from Moratti totaling roughly one million euros.
The Defense Minister took to X on Wednesday to post about the happy ending, although investigators are still trying to identify the network of scammers behind the operation.
“I am very happy that the money stolen from a businessman by deception, using my falsified voice and name, has been located in a Dutch account and blocked in its entirety. Excellent work by the magistrates and police forces,” Crosetto said.
Sono molto contento che i soldi sottratti con l’inganno ad un imprenditore, utilizzando la mia voce falsificata ed il mio nome, siano stati individuati su un conto olandese e bloccati nella loro totale interezza.
undefined Guido Crosetto (@GuidoCrosetto) February 12, 2025
Ottimo lavoro dei magistrati e delle forze di polizia.
Other well-known moguls targeted in the Italian scam included fashion designer Giorgio Armani; Prada co-founder Patrizio Bertelli; CEO of Pirelli tire empire Marco Tronchetti Provera; members of the Beretta family, owners of the world's oldest firearms manufacturer; the Aleotti family, owners of the pharmaceutical company Menarini; and Diego Della Valle, CEO of luxury leather footwear company Tod’s.
And, while the other business leaders caught on to the scam, Moratti explained how he was so easily duped, according to L’Unione Sarda.
"These guys are good. It all seemed absolutely true. However, it can happen, but of course you don't expect something like this. But it happens to everyone…" Moratti was quoted as saying.
The daily newspaper also reported that even after Moratti alerted police, the business entrepreneur was unsuccessfully “bombarded” with phone calls and other follow-up requests for more money.
Italian police said the cybercriminals, making the calls appear to come from inside the government’s offices in Rome, first posed as the Minister’s staff and then pretended to pass the phone off to Crosetto.
The “fake Crosetto” then asked for the money, further explaining that the Italian government could not be associated with the transactions, investigators revealed.
The cash, which was found and frozen in the Netherlands on Wednesday, had been sent to a Hong Kong-based bank account last week, with Moretti filing the official complaint with police over the weekend after realizing what happened.