The fraud case that emerged in Italy revealed the point that artificial intelligence has reached in financial crimes.
According to CyberNews, the suspects not only impersonated an administrator's name or image; He created a scenario that complements each other, from WhatsApp messages to phone calls, from fake e-mails to voice copied with artificial intelligence.
The target of the incident was Paolo Molesini, the then Chairman of Fideuram, the private banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, one of Italy's largest banks.
IT ALL STARTED WITH A FAKE MESSAGE
The scam started with a WhatsApp message on Molesini's phone in February 2026. The message was prepared as if it had been sent by Intesa Sanpaolo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carlo Messina. The fake Messina was asking Fideuram for help with an urgent foreign financial transaction, creating the impression that the transaction should be carried out without delay.
According to reports in the Italian press, a scenario was set up in the message that the Fideuram treasury should be activated in order not to miss a financial opportunity that Intesa Sanpaolo wanted to evaluate abroad. However, the suspects' plan was not just a single WhatsApp message.
'THEY IMITATE YOUR VOICE WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE'
After the fake message, Molesini received a phone call, this time appearing to be from a lawyer he knew.
The caller appeared to be Paolo Nastasi, managing partner of the Italian office of international law firm A&O Shearman. But the person on the phone was not the real Nastasi. Fraudsters imitated the voice of a person they knew using artificial intelligence.
The voice created by artificial intelligence also confirmed the request in the fake WhatsApp message during the phone call. Thus, for Molesini, two seemingly independent communication channels supported the same request.
The suspects were not satisfied with this. This time, fake e-mails that appeared to be sent from a law firm were put into effect. The WhatsApp message, phone call and emails were constructed as three separate communications confirming the same financial transaction.
95 MILLION EUROS WERE TRANSFERRED ABROAD
Believing that the scenario was real, Molesini instructed the relevant financial unit of the bank to make money transfers.
After this, approximately 95 million euros were sent to accounts abroad in multiple transactions. It was reported that a significant part of the money was directed to China and Hong Kong, while some of it passed through Portugal.
The fraud was quickly discovered. After Fideuram activated international banking cooperation mechanisms and Italian authorities became involved in the investigation, a significant part of the money was blocked or withdrawn. However, not all of the money could be reached.
36 MILLION EUROS STILL LOST
According to the latest information in the Italian press, approximately 59 million euros have been recovered, while at least 36 million euros are still missing. Tracking this money became one of the most difficult stages of the investigation.
According to the investigation file, it is considered that some of the missing money was converted into Bitcoin after being transferred through a bank in Portugal.
Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Milan Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, international legal assistance mechanisms are used and attempts are made to monitor account and money movements in different countries.
13 MILLION EUROS WERE FROZEN IN PORTUGAL
Approximately 13 million euros were frozen in a bank account in Portugal with a precautionary seizure order issued in May as part of the investigation.
In China, over 40 million euros were blocked, thanks to the rapid action of Fideuram and the cooperation between banks. Thus, a significant part of the money that was initially sent abroad started to return.
However, the portion of the money converted into crypto assets further complicated the investigation.
THE CEO'S NAME WAS ALSO ON THE TARGET
Another striking aspect of the incident was that the fraudsters used not only the Fideuram manager but also the CEO of the group to which the bank is affiliated.
The fraudsters tried to gain Molesini's trust by impersonating Carlo Messina's identity and communication style. Then, by transcribing the voice of a well-known lawyer with artificial intelligence, he established a second verification mechanism that supported the first message.
Thus, the attack evolved from a single fake message into a multi-stage fraud using a combination of identity impersonation, social engineering and artificial intelligence-supported voice cloning.
MOLESINI REMOVED HIS POSITION
Following the incident, Paolo Molesini resigned from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fideuram. However, there is no information in the investigation carried out by the Italian authorities that Molesini is considered a suspect; The focus of the investigation is to identify the person or persons who committed the fraud and to trace the missing money.
It was reported that at least one foreign person was recorded as a suspect in the investigation, but even the real identity of this person may not be certain.
ALARM ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FRAUD
The Fideuram case is considered a new example of how artificial intelligence can make fraudulent methods convincing.
It is reported that similar attacks against banks and financial institutions are increasing in Italy. According to information compiled by the Italian banking employees' federation, FABI, from Police Post data, the amount of money stolen in digital frauds reached 269 million euros in 2025. This figure means an increase of 17.4 percent compared to the previous year. In the 2022-2025 period, the economic value of digital frauds increased by 75.9 percent, from 152.9 million euros to 269 million euros.
Antonio De Vita from Intesa Sanpaolo's security unit also drew attention to the extent of artificial intelligence-supported fake content. According to the information provided by De Vita, the bank has blocked approximately 5 thousand artificial intelligence-produced fake videos since the beginning of 2026; It was stated that most of them imitated CEO Carlo Messina.
