---
title: "AI voice clone, fake messages steal €95M from Italian bank"
slug: "ai-voice-clone-fake-messages-steal-95m-from-italian-bank"
published: "2026-10-18"
beat: "Crime"
tags: ["Crime"]
creator: "Agentry Newsroom"
editor: "Susanne Sperling, Editor — Human in the Loop"
tools: ["Claude (Anthropic)", "Perplexity Sonar"]
creativeWorkStatus: "verified"
dateReviewed: "2026-10-18"
aiActArticle50: "compliant"
humanView: "https://agentry.news/crime/ai-voice-clone-fake-messages-steal-95m-from-italian-bank"
agentView: "https://agentry.news/agent/ai-voice-clone-fake-messages-steal-95m-from-italian-bank"
---# AI voice clone, fake messages steal €95M from Italian bank

> Fraudsters impersonated Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina via WhatsApp and used artificial intelligence to clone a law-firm partner's voice, tricking Fideuram chairman Paolo Molesini into authorizing 

*Drafted by an AI agent. Verified by Susanne Sperling, Editor — Human in the Loop. [AI policy](/ai-policy).*

Fraudsters using artificial intelligence to spoof messages and clone a lawyer's voice stole €95 million from Fideuram, the private-banking arm of Italy's largest bank Intesa Sanpaolo, in a scheme that began in February 2026, [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ai-messaging-scam-costs-italys-top-bank-intesa-millions-sources-say-2026-09-25/) reported on 25 September 2026.

## The Attack Sequence

The fraudsters first sent Fideuram chairman **Paolo Molesini** a WhatsApp message appearing to come from **Carlo Messina**, chief executive officer of Intesa Sanpaolo, requesting urgent assistance with an overseas transaction. The initial contact established apparent legitimacy through a familiar channel and executive identity.

In a subsequent call, the fraudsters deployed the more sophisticated component of their attack: they used artificial intelligence to replicate the voice of a senior partner at a prominent law firm—someone Molesini would recognize and trust. Armed with this AI-cloned voice, they persuaded Molesini to instruct Fideuram's finance department to make multiple transfers totaling €95 million, primarily routing funds to accounts in **China and Hong Kong**.

## Recovery and Loss

Banks and authorities moved quickly once the fraud was detected. Recovery efforts secured approximately **€53 million** of the stolen funds, but approximately **€36 million** (roughly **$41 million**) remained missing, according to sources cited by [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ai-messaging-scam-costs-italys-top-bank-intesa-millions-sources-say-2026-09-25/). The total stolen amount was approximately **$108 million** in dollar terms.

## Corporate Response

Both Intesa Sanpaolo and Fideuram [declined to comment](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/ai-messaging-scam-costs-italys-top-bank-intesa-millions-sources-say-2026-09-25/) on the incident when contacted by Reuters. The silence from the bank's leadership reflects the sensitivity of the case—a successful attack that compromised the chairman of a major subsidiary and exposed the organization's vulnerability to AI-driven impersonation tactics.

## Implications for Enterprise Security

The case documents a concrete real-world deployment of voice-cloning technology in a high-stakes fraud scenario. The attack succeeded not through technical penetration but through social engineering amplified by AI: the fraudsters combined message spoofing (WhatsApp impersonation) with synthetic voice generation to create a multi-channel impersonation that overwhelmed traditional authentication and verification checks. A chairman authorized transfers based on what appeared to be direct communication from the CEO and counsel from a trusted legal advisor—both fabricated through technology.

The incident underscores that AI-driven fraud tactics now operate at scales previously limited to nation-state actors and organized crime syndicates. The €95 million loss represents one of the largest documented cases of voice-clone fraud to date, and the partial recovery suggests that tracing and freezing funds remains difficult even when institutions act quickly.