AI messaging scam costs Italy's top bank Intesa millions, sources say

Fraudsters used AI to clone a senior lawyer's voice and confirm a fake payment instruction Reuters September 25, 2026 1 min read Intesa Sanpaolo logo is seen in this illustration taken December 3, 2025. REUTERS Fraudsters using AI to impersonate senior executives stole €95 million ($108 million) from Fideuram, the private banking arm of Italy's biggest lender ​Intesa Sanpaolo, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. More ‌than half the funds were later recovered, but some €36 million remains missing, the sources said. The scheme, first reported by Corriere della Sera, began in February when then-Fideuram Chairman ​Paolo Molesini received what appeared to be a WhatsApp message from ​Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina seeking urgent help with an overseas ⁠transaction. The fraudsters followed up with a phone call that appeared to come ​from a senior partner at a prominent law firm, confirming the instruction. According ​to the sources, the callers used AI technology to replicate the lawyer's voice. Believing the request was genuine, Molesini instructed his finance department to arrange a series of transfers to ​foreign accounts, mainly in China and Hong Kong, the sources said. Read More: Financing of historic AI buildout raises systemic risks in US, researcher says Intesa Sanpaolo ​and Fideuram declined to comment. Fideuram quickly detected irregularities in the transfers and alerted banks and ‌authorities ⁠in several countries. Roughly €53 million was later recovered through cooperation between authorities in China, Portugal and Italy, according to the sources. The remaining funds have not been traced after passing through a network of overseas accounts and being ​converted into cryptocurrencies, they ​said. Neither Molesini nor ⁠any other Fideuram executives are under investigation, the sources said. However, Milan prosecutors have placed a foreign national living ​outside Europe under investigation on suspicion of computer fraud, ​one of ⁠the sources said. Molesini resigned as chairman in March citing personal reasons. At the time, Fideuram gave no further explanation for his departure. Last year, fraudsters using AI to ⁠mimic ​the voice of an Italian minister persuaded businessman ​Massimo Moratti to transfer nearly €1 million to an overseas account. The money was later recovered.