A multi-national company was scammed of HK$200 million (S$34 million) after an employee in Hong Kong attended a video conference call with deepfake recreations of the company’s chief financial officer and other employees.
The South China Morning Post reported on Feb 4 that the case was the first of its kind in Hong Kong, but local police did not name the company or its employees involved.
Hong Kong police senior superintendent Baron Chan said that aside from the employee that was duped, every colleague in the video call was “fake”.
The scammers had used publicly available footage to digitally recreate each individual.
The employee, who works in the finance department, had received a message in January – from someone who appeared to be the company’s Britain-based CFO – asking for a transaction to be made.
Although the employee was initially doubtful, Mr Chan said the victim was fooled after being invited to the video conference call and seeing the company’s CFO and other “employees” in attendance.
The employee complied with instructions given during the meeting, and transferred around HK$200 million to five bank accounts, spread across 15 transactions.
ST Asian Insider: Malaysia Edition Get exclusive insights into Malaysia in weekly round-up
Thank you!
Sign up
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and T&Cs.
The employee realised the deception only one week after receiving the initial message, after directly inquiring with the company’s headquarters.
Mr Chan said that during the video call, the employee was asked to do a self-introduction, but did not interact with anyone else.
The “fake” colleagues gave orders to the victim, and the meeting ended abruptly after, added Mr Chan.
The scammers had approached two or three employees of the company using the same scam tactic, said Mr Chan, but did not give details of those encounters.
The police are investigating the case, but no arrests have made in connection to the case so far.
Outrage over deepfake porn images of Taylor Swift
Public urged to be on guard as deepfake content will grow more sophisticated: Experts
Unlock unlimited access to ST exclusive content, insights and analyses
ST One Digital - Annual
$9.90 $4.95 /month
Get offer
$59.40 for the first year and $118.80 per year thereafter.
ST One Digital - Monthly
29.90 $9.90 /month
Subscribe today
No lock-in contract
Unlock more knowledge, unlock more benefits
New feature: Stay up to date on important topics and follow your favourite writers with myST All subscriber-only content on ST app and straitstimes.com Easy access any time via ST app on one mobile device
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Deepfake AI/artificial intelligence Internet crimes and scams Hong Kong
Facebook Telegram More Whatsapp Linkedin Twitter FB Messenger Email Print Purchase Article Copy permalink https://str.sg/cmBu
Read this subscriber-only article for free!
Just sign up for a free account and log in to continue reading.
HK firm scammed of $34 million after employee duped by video call with deepfake of CFO
Sign up
Already have an account? Log in.
All done! This article is now fully available for you
HK firm scammed of $34 million after employee duped by video call with deepfake of CFO
Read now
Please verify your e-mail to read this subscriber-only article in full
HK firm scammed of $34 million after employee duped by video call with deepfake of CFO
Resend verification e-mail
The gift link for this subscriber-only article has expired.
Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month for the first 3 months.
Subscribe now
You have reached your limit of subscriber-only articles this month.
Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month for the first 3 months.
Subscribe now
Read and win!
Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards
Let's go! Terms & conditions apply
Frequently asked questions
Good job, you've read 3 articles today!
Spin the wheel now
Let's go! Terms & conditions apply
Frequently asked questions