Case crosetto-voice-cloneDeepfake fraudItaly
AI-cloned voice of Italy's defence minister used to con business leaders
Scammers mimicked Defence Minister Guido Crosetto's voice to solicit ransom money for 'kidnapped journalists'; Massimo Moratti wired nearly EUR 1M, which police later froze in the Netherlands.
HighAttack using AIStatus: Under investigationVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Feb 12, 2025
- Location
- Italy
- Target
- Italian business executives
- Severity
- High
- Triggered by
- Unknown fraud ring; two Dutch nationals placed under investigation
- Actor type
- Criminal
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
Scammers mimicked Defence Minister Guido Crosetto's voice to solicit ransom money for 'kidnapped journalists'; Massimo Moratti wired nearly EUR 1M, which police later froze in the Netherlands.
Impact: Massimo Moratti wired almost EUR 1 million; Giorgio Armani, Patrizio Bertelli and other elites targeted but did not pay; funds later frozen
Who triggered it
Actor: Unknown fraud ring; two Dutch nationals placed under investigation
Attribution: Milan prosecutors placed two foreign (Dutch) nationals under investigation per ANSA; believed to be acting for others; no public arrests confirmed
Motive: Financial fraud (fake ransom for kidnapped journalists)
How it happened
Attack vector: Phone calls from fake defence ministry officials handing over to an AI-cloned voice of Minister Crosetto requesting urgent wire transfers to foreign accounts
Root cause: Realistic voice cloning of a public figure combined with urgency and authority pretext; victims had no out-of-band verification before wiring funds
Timeline
- Callers posing as Crosetto contact Armani, Bertelli, Moratti and other business leaders seeking ransom money
- Moratti wires two payments totalling almost EUR 1M, then files a complaint with Milan prosecutors
- Italian police announce the funds were traced to a Dutch account and completely frozen
- ANSA reports two Dutch nationals under investigation; Milan prosecutors probe organised-crime group formation
Response
Moratti filed a complaint; Milan prosecutors opened an organised-crime probe; funds traced and frozen in the Netherlands; two suspects identified
Current status: Under investigation
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Reuters (via Yahoo News) yahoo.com
- ANSA ansa.it
- Cyprus Mail (Reuters) cyprus-mail.com
Cite this case
AI-cloned voice of Italy's defence minister used to con business leaders. AI Threat Watch, case crosetto-voice-clone, Feb 12, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/crosetto-voice-clone/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/crosetto-voice-clone/