Legal edition
In the US, three men have been charged with using AI to copy the voices and images of executives and lawyers, and in this way taking in more than $129 million.
Fake CEO and fake lawyer made with AI: more than $129 million stolen
Three men have been charged in the US with a fraud that used AI. They allegedly copied the voice and image of executives and lawyers. This way, they got company employees to transfer large amounts of money. The men are Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit. Soall and Hazan were arrested in Spain this summer. Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom in September. The fraud ran between 2024 and 2026.
One of the men pretended to be a CEO. He told an employee that he needed help with a sensitive money transaction. Then the employee had to contact lawyers at a large international law firm. That lawyer was also played by one of the men. He made the employee transfer a large amount of money.
According to the Department of Justice, the men received more than $129 million. The victims were all over the world. They included almost $5 million from a hospital group in Missouri, about $2.7 million from a bank in Rhode Island and more than $11 million from a British tech company.
What does this mean for your work? If you deal with payments or with requests from managers, a familiar voice or a face on video proves nothing. The victims were ordinary companies, such as hospitals, a bank and a food company.
Background for subscribersThe men posed as a company director and then as a lawyer from a large international law firm, and got employees to transfer large sums. If you work with payments or with requests from managers, a familiar voice or a face on video proves nothing. An extra call with a lawyer also gives no certainty if the fraudster chose that contact himself.
UK bodies look for ways to slow down AI complaints
Some UK ombudsman services now set a maximum number of words for complaints. Other organizations are considering using AI themselves to filter complaints. That costs human contact, a lawyer warns. Researchers name three other possible brakes: charging a fee for a request, making applications harder, or blocking bots. This is about the United Kingdom. It is not known whether such measures will also come to the Netherlands.
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