Submission + - One question stopped a deepfake scam attempt at Ferrari (bloomberg.com)
smooth wombat writes: Deepfake scams are becoming more prolific and their quality will only improve over time. However, one question can stop them dead in their tracks. Such was the case with Ferrari earlier this month when a suspicious executive saved the company from being the latest victim.
The voice impersonating Vigna was convincing — a spot-on imitation of the southern Italian accent.
The Vigna deepfaker began explaining that he was calling from a different mobile phone number because he needed to discuss something confidential — a deal that could face some China-related snags and required an unspecified currency-hedge transaction to be carried out.
The executive was shocked and started to have suspicions, according to the people. He began to pick up on the slightest of mechanical intonations that only deepened his suspicious.
“Sorry, Benedetto, but I need to identify you,” the executive said. He posed a question: What was the title of the book Vigna had just recommended to him a few days earlier (it was Decalogue of Complexity: Acting, Learning and Adapting in the Incessant Becoming of the World by Alberto Felice De Toni)?
With that, the call abruptly ended. Ferrari opened an internal investigation, the people said. Representatives for the Maranello, Italy-based company declined to comment on the matter.
The voice impersonating Vigna was convincing — a spot-on imitation of the southern Italian accent.
The Vigna deepfaker began explaining that he was calling from a different mobile phone number because he needed to discuss something confidential — a deal that could face some China-related snags and required an unspecified currency-hedge transaction to be carried out.
The executive was shocked and started to have suspicions, according to the people. He began to pick up on the slightest of mechanical intonations that only deepened his suspicious.
“Sorry, Benedetto, but I need to identify you,” the executive said. He posed a question: What was the title of the book Vigna had just recommended to him a few days earlier (it was Decalogue of Complexity: Acting, Learning and Adapting in the Incessant Becoming of the World by Alberto Felice De Toni)?
With that, the call abruptly ended. Ferrari opened an internal investigation, the people said. Representatives for the Maranello, Italy-based company declined to comment on the matter.
