Case pesaro-meloni-deepfake-pensionersDeepfake fraudItaly
Pesaro retirees lose over 10,000 euros to deepfake of Meloni promoting investment site
A couple in their sixties told Pesaro police that a video with Meloni's cloned face and voice, styled as a government spot, led them to deposit over 10,000 euros on a platform that vanished at withdrawal.
LowAttack using AIStatus: Under investigationVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Oct 5, 2025
- Location
- Italy
- Target
- Retired couple in Pesaro; Prime Minister Meloni's likeness
- Severity
- Low
- Triggered by
- Unknown
- Actor type
- Criminal
- Reported loss
- $11.7K
- CVE
- None
What happened
A couple in their sixties told Pesaro police that a video with Meloni's cloned face and voice, styled as a government spot, led them to deposit over 10,000 euros on a platform that vanished at withdrawal.
Impact: More than 10,000 euros, about US$11,700, lost by one couple; over 25,000 euros across two Pesaro cases.
Who triggered it
Actor: Unknown
Attribution: Under investigation by the Pesaro Questura alongside other synthetic-voice scams.
Motive: Fake investment platform fraud.
How it happened
Attack vector: Deepfake video of the prime minister mixed into social media feeds, small initial deposits followed by blocked withdrawals.
Root cause: Synthetic political endorsements and absent moderation of paid content.
Timeline
- Couple sees deepfake Meloni video and begins investing
- Two complaints filed with Pesaro police reported in press
Response
Police investigation opened; no arrests reported.
Current status: Under investigation
Sources (open in a new tab)
Cite this case
Pesaro retirees lose over 10,000 euros to deepfake of Meloni promoting investment site. AI Threat Watch, case pesaro-meloni-deepfake-pensioners, Oct 5, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/pesaro-meloni-deepfake-pensioners/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/pesaro-meloni-deepfake-pensioners/