British engineering firm Arup is the victim of a deepfake scam after an employee was tricked into transferring HK$200 million (approximately 20 million yen) to criminals via an artificial intelligence-generated video call. admitted that.
Hong Kong police said in February that an employee of a then-unnamed company was defrauded of a huge sum of money in a hoax call “posing as a company executive.''
In a statement, Arup said it was the company involved and acknowledged that earlier this year the company had “reported the fraud incident in Hong Kong to the police.” He confirmed that fake audio and footage had been used.
It added: “Our financial stability and business operations were not affected, and no internal systems were compromised.”
Rob Greig, global chief information officer at Arup, which oversees the company's computer systems, said the organization was under frequent attacks, including deepfakes.
“Like many other companies around the world, our business is exposed to regular attacks such as invoice fraud, phishing scams, WhatsApp voice spoofing, and deepfakes. “The number and sophistication of these attacks has increased rapidly in recent months,” he said.
Greig said he hoped Arup's experience would “raise awareness” of the sophistication of cyber attackers. The Financial Times first reported that Arup was the company targeted by scammers.
One of the world's leading consulting engineering firms, Arup employs more than 18,000 people and is renowned for providing the structural engineering, including the distinctive concrete shell of the Sydney Opera House. Recent projects include London's Crossrail transport scheme and Barcelona's Sagrada Familia.
The Guardian revealed last week that the head of the world's largest advertising group was the target of a deepfake scam using an AI voice clone. WPP CEO Mark Read revealed the fraud in an email to his senior colleagues, warning them to be wary of calls claiming to be from management.
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Hong Kong media quoted a senior police official, Superintendent Baron Chan, as saying that his staff had been invited to a conference call with “a number of participants”. Mr Chan said the participants “looked like real people” and the employees transferred a total of HK$200 million to five local bank accounts in 15 transactions.
Hong Kong police said in a statement Friday that an employee was “swindled out of approximately HK$200 million after receiving a video conference call from someone posing as a senior company official requesting money to be transferred to a designated bank account.” '' announced.
No arrests have been made so far, but the investigation is ongoing and the case is classified as “obtaining property by deception.”
