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 money has since been recovered, but roughly €36 million ($41 million) remains missing after being moved through overseas accounts and converted into cryptocurrency, according to Reuters.
It started with a message from the CEO
The scheme reportedly began in February 2026, when Fideuram chairman Paolo Molesini received a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina. The message asked Molesini to help with an urgent overseas transaction.
Then came the phone call. Someone claiming to be a senior partner at a prominent law firm reportedly called to confirm the request. According to Reuters’ sources, the scammers used AI to replicate the lawyer’s voice.
The bank moved $108 million
Believing the instructions were legitimate, Molesini directed Fideuram’s finance department to make several transfers to overseas accounts, primarily in China and Hong Kong, according to Reuters. The bank soon detected irregularities and alerted financial institutions and authorities in multiple countries.
International cooperation involving authorities in China, Portugal and Italy eventually helped recover about €53 million. The rest had already moved through multiple overseas accounts and was converted into cryptocurrency, making it much harder to trace.
Molesini resigned as Fideuram chairman in March, citing personal reasons. However, according to Reuters, neither Molesini nor other Fideuram executives are under investigation. Milan prosecutors are investigating a foreign national living outside Europe on suspicion of computer fraud, according to a source cited by Reuters.
Another AI voice scam coming from Italy
Italy has already seen another high-profile example. In February 2025, fraudsters reportedly used an AI-generated voice impersonating an Italian government minister to persuade businessman Massimo Moratti to transfer nearly €1 million to an overseas account. That money was later recovered.
The AI voice was the secret weapon
Voice cloning has become disturbingly accessible. Give an AI system enough audio of someone’s voice and it can generate speech that sounds remarkably similar to the real person. Add a believable backstory, the right phone number or messaging account and some carefully timed social engineering and suddenly a familiar voice is not necessarily proof that you are talking to the person you think you are.
The old rule was to verify the email, check the sender and not trust an unexpected payment request. But given how much these scams are spreading, “I know that voice” is not necessarily proof of anything these days.
Sources: The Daily Star, Yahoo Finance