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Blake, Wm. The First Book of Urizen. 1794.

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A finance worker in Hong Kong was deceived into transferring £20 million ($25M) to fraudsters using a deepfake video of his boss. The scam involved an elaborate setup, convincing the employee through a video call that featured AI-generated images of his colleagues.

Initially hesitant due to the unusual request for a “secret transaction,” the employee’s suspicions grew during the call. Despite feeling that something was “a little off,” the presence of supposed colleagues on the call swayed his decision to proceed with the transfers.

The fraud was unveiled when the employee later checked with the company’s head office, revealing that not just the boss, but everyone on the call was a deepfake.

The AI-generated videos were likely created using past online conferences, with voice alterations made to match each person supposedly on the call.