A cloned voice helped scam Italy's Fideuram out of €95 million
In February 2026, Paolo Molesini, then chairman of Fideuram, the private banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, received a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from Intesa CEO Carlo Messina, followed by a call that appeared to be from a senior partner at a prominent law firm. Sources told Reuters the lawyer's voice had been recreated with AI, and Cybernews reported that Molesini was also sent 11 documents, including an apparent power of attorney bearing Messina's signature. The bank sent about €95 million ($108 million) to accounts mainly in China and Hong Kong; authorities in Italy, Portugal and China helped recover about €53 million, and about €36 million remains untraced after being converted into cryptocurrency, according to the sources. Milan prosecutors are investigating a foreign national living outside Europe for suspected computer fraud.