Ferrari Exec Thwarts a Scammer

Nico DeMattia from TheDrive:

According to Bloomberg, the scammer reached out to a Ferrari exec through WhatsApp pretending to be Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna. The scammer reportedly asked “Hey, did you hear about the big acquisition we’re planning? I could need your help.” While the WhatsApp number and photo were different than the real Vigna’s, the exec seemingly kept the conversation going, as the messages continued.

The scammer kicked things up a notch when they called the exec, using AI deepfake technology to mimic Vigna’s voice and even his southern Italian accent. According to the Ferrari exec, the deepfake accent was nearly perfect. However, the exec couldn’t shake the feeling that something fishy was going on, so they told the scammer that they needed to verify the caller’s identity. To do this, they asked what book Vigna recently recommended to them. The title was “Decalogue of Complexity: Acting, Learning and Adapting in the Incessant Becoming of the World” by Alberto Felice De Toni. Of course, the scammer didn’t know that—so they promptly hung up.

That exec that was targeted did everything right.

1. He noticed the phone number was different.

2. He wanted to speak to the CEO to make sure it was from him.

3. The Deepfake sounded convincing but still the exec was not fully convinced, so he asked the deepfake a question that only the real CEO would know, which made the scammer hang up.