British engineering firm Arup has confirmed it fell victim to a serious deepfake scam when one of its employees in Hong Kong was tricked into transferring $25 million to fraudsters.
Arup acknowledged the incident, but emphasized that their financial stability and business operations were not impacted, and none of their internal systems were compromised.
The scammers impersonated “senior company officers” using fake voices and images, according to Hong Kong police who reported the hoax call earlier this year that led to the staff member transferring a significant amount of money.
Police stated that an employee was on a conference call with several individuals who appeared to be the real company executives. The unsuspecting employee ended up transferring a total of HK$200 million (USD $25 million) to five local bank accounts through 15 transactions.
As of now, no arrests have been made, but the investigation is ongoing with the case classified as “obtaining property by deception.”
Increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyber attacks
Arup, a multinational design firm known for its work on iconic landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, and the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, employs around 18,000 people globally.
Company CIO Rob Greig emphasized the need for vigilance among other businesses and organizations, revealing that Arup has been targeted in previous cyber attacks, including deepfakes.
“Like many other businesses around the globe, our operations are subject to regular attacks, including invoice fraud, phishing scams, WhatsApp voice spoofing, and deepfakes. What we have seen is that the number and sophistication of these attacks has been rising sharply in recent months,” he said.
Image credit: Ideogram
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