Deepfake video call fraud: when the CFO on screen isn't real
By Trusterity · Updated 14 November 2026
In 2024 a finance employee at Arup's Hong Kong office joined a video call with what looked like the CFO and colleagues — and made transfers totalling about $25.6 million. Everyone else on the call was a deepfake. (Fortune)
What this changes
- Seeing and hearing a person is no longer proof of who they are.
- Public videos, webinars and earnings calls give criminals enough material.
- Attackers mix channels: email first, then a call to remove doubt.
The control
- No payment is approved on a call — only in the normal written workflow.
- Call back on a known number before acting on any unusual request.
- Agree internal code words or questions for high-value approvals.
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