Deepfake: Production and industrial SMEs, Italy 2024
A manager received WhatsApp messages and a call from the supposed CEO about a confidential deal in China involving currency hedging.
- Incident · 07.2024 · Italy
- Evidence: several media
- Deepfake
- Deception (social engineering)
- AI link
As of
What happened
Because something seemed strange to him, he asked for the title of a book that the real CEO had recently recommended to him. The caller could not answer and hung up; Ferrari launched an internal investigation.
Role of AI: Voice of CEO Benedetto Vigna, with a southern Italian accent, imitated deceptively well.
- Affected
- Ferrari
- Industry
- Production and industrial SMEs
- Loss
- no reliable figure
- Business interruption
- unknown
- Ransom demanded / paid
- unknown / unknown
- Data affected
- unknown
- Bankruptcy
- no
- Entry point
- WhatsApp messages from an unknown number, followed by a call with an imitated voice of the CEO
What would cyber insurance have paid?
That depends on the terms. Whether those affected were insured: unknown.
-
CEO fraud, diverted payment, fake invoice
Mostly add-on 5 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
What we can learn
A personal security question that only the real person can answer stops even good voice clones.
Sources
- Ferrari narrowly dodges deepfake scam simulating deal-hungry CEO (opens in a new window) Gulf News (Bloomberg) · 2024-07
- Someone Deepfaked Ferrari CEO's Voice and Tried to Scam the Company (opens in a new window) Motor1 · 2024-07