A single WhatsApp message and a phone call that sounded like the boss reportedly cost one of Italy's biggest banking groups tens of millions of euros. According to Reuters, citing unnamed sources, fraudsters tricked Fideuram, the private banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, into sending transfers worth about €95 million. The Intesa Sanpaolo voice cloning scam is one of the largest publicly reported cases of AI-assisted executive impersonation at a major bank.
Key facts
- Reuters reported on 25 September 2026, citing unnamed sources, that fraudsters duped Fideuram, the private banking unit of Intesa Sanpaolo, into making transfers totalling about €95 million.
- According to the Reuters report, the attackers impersonated senior executives, first by WhatsApp message and then by a phone call using a cloned voice.
- Sources told Reuters that about €53 million of the transferred money was later recovered.
- Roughly €36 million reportedly remains missing, according to the same reporting, and the figures are unconfirmed pending official statements or court records.
What happened in the Intesa Sanpaolo voice cloning scam
The reported sequence is simple, which is part of why it is so worrying. Attackers sent a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from a senior boss at the bank. They then followed up with a phone call in which a cloned voice was used to confirm the request.
That combination of message and voice call reportedly gave the instruction enough credibility to trigger transfers. According to the reports, the payments went overseas. The Reuters report says the total reached about €95 million.
Gulf News described the case as an AI voice cloning scam in which fake executives triggered overseas transfers, in its coverage of the incident. Other outlets repeated the core details and converted the amount into other currencies for their readers.
How much money was lost and recovered
The reported numbers are large, and they are still moving. Here is what the sources have said so far:
- Total transferred: about €95 million
- Recovered: about €53 million
- Reportedly still missing: roughly €36 million
The figures do not add up exactly, which suggests the final tally could change as the bank and investigators finish tracing the funds. Some outlets also published converted totals. For example, an Economic Times report framed the loss at about $108 million in its headline, while NDTV highlighted that roughly half the amount had been recovered.
Recovery of more than half of the funds is unusual in cases of this kind. Fast reporting to banks and receiving institutions often decides whether any money can be frozen. The reports do not say which accounts were frozen or how the recovery happened.
Why AI voice cloning makes executive impersonation harder to spot
Business email compromise and so-called CEO fraud have existed for years. What has changed is the cost and quality of voice synthesis. A short audio sample, such as a conference talk or a media interview, can reportedly be enough to produce a convincing imitation.
Bank staff are trained to spot odd email addresses and misspelled requests. A familiar voice on the phone bypasses much of that instinct. When the call follows a message that looks like it came from the same person, the request feels verified even when it is not.
Urgency and authority are the real levers
Fraud investigators commonly note that these scams lean on two pressures. The first is authority, because the request appears to come from someone senior. The second is urgency, because the transfer is framed as confidential or time-sensitive. Both discourage the employee from pausing to check through a separate channel.
Messaging apps sit outside normal controls
WhatsApp and similar apps are often outside a bank's formal approval workflow. An instruction that arrives there may not leave the audit trail that a ticketing system or a dealing platform would. That gap is something fraudsters can exploit, and it is one reason the case has drawn attention.
Why the case matters for private banking
Private banking units handle large balances and often rely on personal relationships. Transfers can be big, and approvals can depend on trusted senior staff. That environment rewards speed and discretion, which are also the qualities attackers try to imitate.
Trending Topics covered the episode as a deepfake story, noting the scale of the loss in its report on the Intesa Sanpaolo deepfake. The case raises open questions about verification protocols, cross-border payment controls, and whether other institutions could face the same tactic.
None of those questions has been answered publicly. Reuters relied on unnamed sources, and the details of what controls were in place, and which failed, have not been confirmed on the record.
What investigators are likely to examine
In cases like this, investigators typically work through a standard set of records and questions. Based on the reporting angles available, these are the areas that matter most:
- Transfer and SWIFT logs to establish when each payment was approved and where it went.
- WhatsApp metadata to identify the number, device, and account used to contact staff.
- The audio of the call, to test for signs of synthetic speech.
- Beneficiary accounts, to see which were frozen and which were emptied.
- Internal approval records, to see whether a second check was required and bypassed.
Regulators may also ask the bank to explain its controls. No regulatory action has been confirmed in the sources reviewed. The bank's formal position should be treated as the authoritative account once it is published.
How AI voice fraud is spreading beyond banks
The same tools are used against ordinary people, not just institutions. One example is a voice cloning real estate wire fraud case, where a cloned voice was used to redirect a home purchase payment. Victims in that type of case rarely have a compliance department to catch the error.
Deepfake video is also fuelling investment cons. Our coverage of an AI deepfake investment scam shows how convincing fake media can push victims into large payments. Law enforcement is starting to respond, as seen when the Manhattan DA seized deepfake websites.
How to protect yourself and your business from voice cloning fraud
Banks will review their own procedures. Smaller firms and individuals can take practical steps now:
- Never approve a payment based only on a message or a phone call, even if the voice sounds right.
- Call back on a number you already hold, not one supplied in the message.
- Require two people to approve transfers above a set limit.
- Agree a private code word with family members and senior colleagues.
- Treat secrecy and extreme urgency as warning signs in themselves.
- Limit how much public audio of senior staff is available where possible.
If you think you have been targeted, contact your bank immediately and ask it to recall the payment. Then report the incident to the FTC or the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center if you are in the United States. Quick action gives the best chance of freezing funds.
What we still do not know
Several key points are unconfirmed. The identity of the attackers has not been reported. The exact timing of the transfers, the destination countries, and the mechanism of recovery have not been detailed. The bank's own comment on the loss and any customer impact is also not part of the reporting reviewed.
Until official statements or court records appear, every figure here remains a reported allegation based on anonymous sources. We will update this story as confirmed information emerges.
Conclusion
The Intesa Sanpaolo voice cloning scam, as reported, shows that a familiar voice is no longer proof of identity. If a bank with extensive security resources can reportedly be caught out, every business and family should assume the same tactic could reach them. Set up call-back rules and dual approvals today, share this story with anyone who handles payments, and report suspicious requests to the authorities.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Intesa Sanpaolo voice cloning scam?
According to Reuters, citing unnamed sources, fraudsters impersonated senior executives to trick Fideuram, the private banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, into making transfers of about €95 million. They reportedly sent a WhatsApp message and then phoned with a cloned voice. The details remain unconfirmed by official statements.
How much money did Intesa Sanpaolo recover?
Sources told Reuters that about €53 million of the roughly €95 million was recovered. About €36 million reportedly remains missing. The numbers may change as investigations continue.
How do scammers use AI voice cloning to steal money?
Scammers copy a person's voice from public audio, then use it in a phone call to sound like a boss or relative. They pair it with urgent messages to pressure the target into sending money. The familiar voice makes the request seem verified when it is not.
How can companies protect against executive impersonation fraud?
Companies should require call-backs on known numbers and two-person approval for large transfers. They should also bring messaging app instructions into formal approval workflows. Training staff to treat urgency and secrecy as red flags helps too.
Where can I report an AI voice cloning scam?
Contact your bank first to try to recall the payment. In the United States, you can report the incident to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Report quickly, because speed improves the chance of freezing funds.
