AI Messaging Scam Costs Italy’s Top Bank Intesa Millions, Sources Say
Fraudsters used cloned voices and a fake WhatsApp message to push urgent transfers, and banks recovered about €53 million, sources said.
- In February 2026, fraudsters tricked Fideuram Chairman Paolo Molesini into executing eleven overseas transfers totaling €95 million using fake WhatsApp messages and AI-cloned voices impersonating Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina.
- The scheme relied on layering communication channels, combining a WhatsApp message appearing to be from Messina with a follow-up call using an AI-generated lawyer's voice, which convinced Molesini to authorize the payments.
- International cooperation between authorities in China, Portugal, and Italy recovered roughly €53 million, though investigators report that approximately €39.5 million remains missing after being converted into cryptocurrency through complex overseas accounts.
- Following the February incident, Molesini resigned as Fideuram chairman in March, while Milan prosecutors are currently investigating a 48-year-old Israeli citizen suspected of participating in the fraud scheme.
- Voice authentication is increasingly insufficient for high-risk transactions, forcing banks to implement stronger independent verification procedures as scammers exploit familiar communication channels to bypass security protocols.
105 Articles
105 Articles
Using artificial intelligence and impersonation, online fraudsters stole 95 million euros from Fideuram Bank, which is part of the Intesa Sanpaolo group, which is also present in Slovenia. The bank managed to recover more than half of the stolen funds.
SCAMMERS used AI to clone managers' voices and stole €95 million from Fideuram, a subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo bank. Some of the money has been returned, but €36 million is still being sought.
Scammers stole $108 million from a bank using a fake AI voice
A fake WhatsApp message, a convincing phone call and an AI-generated voice put together was enough to convince a senior banking executive to authorize €95 million (about $108 million) in overseas transfers. The target was Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, the private-banking arm of Italy’s largest lender, Intesa Sanpaolo. More than half of the […] Read the original article here: Scammers stole $108 million from a bank using a fake AI v…
Fraudsters were able to steal about $108 million (95 million euros) from one of Italy's largest banks in a scam backed up by artificial intelligence. How can banks cope with such operations?
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