Arup, a British engineering firm, fell victim to a deepfake scam when an employee mistakenly transferred HK$200 million (approximately 20 million yen) to criminals during an artificial intelligence-generated video call.
Reports from Hong Kong police in February revealed that an employee of an unnamed company was duped into sending a large sum of money in a fraudulent call impersonating a company executive.
Arup confirmed that they were the company involved and had reported the incident to the Hong Kong police earlier this year. They admitted that fake audio and video had been used in the fraud.
The company stated, “Our financial stability and business operations remained unaffected, and there was no compromise to our internal systems.”
Arup’s global chief information officer, Rob Greig, mentioned that the organization faces frequent cyberattacks, including deepfakes, as seen in this incident.
Greig emphasized the need for increased awareness regarding the sophistication of cyber attackers, especially after Arup’s experience.
A report from the Financial Times newspaper first identified Arup as the target of the scammers.
Arup, known as one of the world’s leading consulting engineering firms, employs over 18,000 individuals and is recognized for its involvement in projects like the Sydney Opera House and London’s Crossrail transport scheme.
Another recent case involving a deepfake scam targeted WPP CEO Mark Read, as reported by The Guardian last week.
Hong Kong police disclosed that employees transferred HK$200 million in total to five local bank accounts in 15 transactions during a video conference call where the perpetrators posed as senior company officials.
The investigation into the scam is ongoing, but no arrests have been made yet, with the case classified as “obtaining property by deception.”
Source: www.theguardian.com
