Ferrari Thwarts AI Impersonation Scam as Deepfakes Target Corporate Executives

Ferrari NV, the Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, recently faced an advanced deepfake scam attempt, with fraudsters using AI technology to impersonate the company's CEO Benedetto Vigna. A senior Ferrari executive received a series of WhatsApp messages and a phone call from individuals claiming to be Vigna, discussing a confidential acquisition that needed urgent attention.

The scam was first signalled by messages delivered through an unusual phone number and requests for strict secrecy regarding a supposed deal involving China. The fraudsters went to significant lengths, replicating Vigna's southern Italian accent and his likeness in the WhatsApp profile picture.

Suspicion arose when the executive challenged the caller to verify their identity by recalling a recent book recommendation made by the real Vigna. Upon being questioned, the fake Vigna ended the call abruptly. The rouse triggered an internal investigation, although Ferrari has not officially commented on the incident.

Ferrari's brush with AI fraudulence is not an isolated event. Earlier this year, Mark Read of WPP Plc was targeted by a similar deepfake scam during a Teams call, and a large multinational company in Hong Kong was defrauded of HK$200 million by deepfake deception.

According to Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, the increase in voice cloning attempts utilizing AI is noteworthy. Despite the vast potential of AI in falsifying audio and video convincingly, the technology has yet to perpetrate widespread deception successfully.

However, the threats are escalating as the AI technology advances. Companies and security experts, such as those at CyberArk, are emphasizing the importance of training to identify such scams. Professor Stefano Zanero from Politecnico di Milano notes that AI-powered deepfake tools are on the brink of becoming incredibly accurate, indicating a pressing need for corporate vigilance in the digital age.