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A fake message, a cloned voice: €95 million

In February 2026, a WhatsApp message that seemed to come from the group's CEO and an AI-cloned lawyer's voice led Italian private bank Fideuram to send about €95 million abroad within a few hours.

01The case
Date
February 2026 (made public in September 2026)
Where
Italy
Target
Fideuram (Intesa Sanpaolo group)
Method
WhatsApp message in the group CEO’s name, then a call in the cloned voice of a known lawyer
Amount
About €95 million; at least €36 million still untraced

The then chairman of Fideuram, the private banking arm of the Intesa Sanpaolo group, received a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from group CEO Carlo Messina. It asked for urgent transfers from Fideuram's treasury so that a foreign financial operation of interest to the group would not fall through. Messina had written no such message.

A phone call followed that seemed to come from a lawyer the chairman knew, who had nothing to do with the matter. According to Italian media, the voice had been cloned with artificial intelligence and sounded credible. Within a few hours, about €95 million left the bank, mostly to China and Hong Kong.

Part of the money was recovered through international interbank cooperation: €13 million was seized at a bank in Portugal and more than €40 million was frozen in China. At least €36 million, converted into cryptocurrency, is still untraced. Milan prosecutors are investigating; a foreign name, possibly a fictitious identity, is on the register of suspects.

02What we learn

The attack targeted the chain of command.

  • The message came from a familiar executive and the voice from a familiar person; both were fake. A familiar voice alone is not proof of identity.
  • The request was both urgent and confidential. When urgency and secrecy come together, stop and verify through a separate, known channel.
  • The money spread across several countries within hours. The moment of decision — the call itself — is the critical one.

SynVoi analyses whether the voice on the line is cloned while the conversation is still going, and runs inside the organisation's own infrastructure. Such an alert can be used to trigger extra verification before a transfer is approved.

03Sources

This post is compiled from the public news reports below; figures and dates are as reported in the sources. The image is illustrative.

  1. Sky TG24Truffa a Fideuram, falso messaggio WhatsApp e Ia: spariti 36 milioni
  2. Forbes ItaliaFideuram, 95 milioni trasferiti dopo un falso messaggio del ceo Messina: usata anche l’AI
04More news

All news

05Contact

Catch the cloned voice before the call ends.

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