[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-ai-deepfake-scam-tricks-italian-bank-out-of-100-million":10,"sections":35},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":30,"feedback":34,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":34,"total_tokens":34},8394,"ai-deepfake-scam-tricks-italian-bank-out-of-100-million","AI Deepfake Scam Tricks Italian Bank Out of $100 Million","A single WhatsApp message and a cloned voice were enough to convince a top Italian bank's chairman to wire nearly $100 million overseas.","A voice clone and a WhatsApp message were all it took to talk Italy's largest private bank out of nearly $100 million.\n\nIn February 2026, fraudsters targeted Fideuram, the Intesa Sanpaolo private banking and wealth management arm, by sending its then chairman Paolo Molesini a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina, asking for help with an urgent overseas transaction. A follow-up call from someone claiming to be a senior partner at a well-known law firm used an AI-generated voice clone to confirm the request. Molesini authorized it, and the bank's finance team wired funds to accounts mostly in mainland China and Hong Kong. Fideuram caught the fraud and, working with police in Italy, Portugal, and China, recovered about $60.14 million; roughly $40.8 million is still missing, reportedly converted into cryptocurrency.\n\nFideuram manages $513.25 billion in assets and posts $9.85 billion in annual profit, so this wasn't a small operation fooled by an amateur trick. It was one of Europe's most sophisticated wealth managers, undone by a phone call. Molesini stepped down from his chairman roles at Fideuram and Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking a month later, citing personal reasons, a reminder that these scams end careers even when no wrongdoing is alleged.\n\nThis is the same playbook that convinced businessman Massimo Moratti to send $1.13 million after hearing a cloned Italian minister's voice last year, except this time the target had a nine-figure treasury and a fake law firm on the line to close the deal.","[\"deepfakes\",\"ai-scams\",\"banking\",\"cybersecurity\"]","2026-09-29T13:03:20.000Z","2026-09-29T13:51:15.640Z","2026-09-29T13:51:22.521Z","published",null,[],"security",[26,27,28,29],"deepfakes","ai-scams","banking","cybersecurity",[31],{"name":32,"url":33},"TechRadar","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.techradar.com\u002Fpro\u002Fsecurity\u002Fitalys-top-bank-hit-by-an-ai-messaging-scam-which-cost-it-nearly-eur100-million",0,{"sections":36},[37,42,46,51,56,61,66,71,76,81,86,91,96,101],{"name":38,"slug":39,"count":40,"latest_published_at":41},"AI","ai",4929,"2026-09-29T14:10:02.000Z",{"name":43,"slug":24,"count":44,"latest_published_at":45},"Security",774,"2026-09-29T14:10:00.000Z",{"name":47,"slug":48,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Policy","policy",411,"2026-09-29T13:23:55.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Deals","deals",282,"2026-09-29T13:30:00.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",194,"2026-09-29T13:16:04.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Science","science",154,"2026-09-28T13:19:18.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",139,"2026-09-28T17:09:47.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":73,"count":74,"latest_published_at":75},"Software","software",91,"2026-09-25T20:55:00.000Z",{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",88,"2026-09-29T08:26:28.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Startups","startups",81,"2026-09-29T09:00:00.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":88,"count":89,"latest_published_at":90},"General","general",49,"2026-09-28T16:44:57.000Z",{"name":92,"slug":93,"count":94,"latest_published_at":95},"Gaming","gaming",48,"2026-09-25T18:35:21.000Z",{"name":97,"slug":98,"count":99,"latest_published_at":100},"Reviews","reviews",31,"2026-09-28T14:31:34.000Z",{"name":102,"slug":103,"count":104,"latest_published_at":105},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]