Fideuram Falls Victim to Sophisticated AI Voice Scam, €95 Million Transferred Overseas
Italian private bank Fideuram was targeted by a sophisticated AI voice scam in February 2026. The scammers impersonated Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina and a senior lawyer to deceive then-chairman Paolo Molesini. They sent a WhatsApp message and a subsequent call that appeared to provide confirmation from the lawyer, Paolo Nastasi. The voice cloning made the caller sound like Nastasi, and the emails that followed resembled law firm correspondence. Molesini instructed the finance department to arrange the payments, which mainly went to accounts in China and Hong Kong.
The scammers combined apparent executive authority with a familiar professional voice to strengthen the payment request across several communications. The reported transfers triggered approximately €95 million in overseas transfers, with at least €36 million reportedly converted into cryptocurrency. Fideuram detected irregularities and alerted banks and authorities across several countries, leading to the recovery of some money and the freezing of assets in Portugal.
The Milan prosecutors are investigating a foreign suspect, while Reuters sources said Molesini and other Fideuram executives were not under investigation. The Fideuram AI voice scam illustrates how voice cloning can be used to deceive, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers can reproduce familiar voices from short audio recordings.