Two Israelis Accused of $129 Million AI Voice Impersonation Scam in US
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Two Israelis, Sharon Hazan and Guy Shitrit, along with Jacob Suele, are accused in the U.S. of a $129 million fraud using AI voice and face impersonation. They allegedly posed as CEOs and lawyers to trick employees into transferring funds for fake secret deals. The indictment was unsealed in New York, detailing the sophisticated use of AI technology in the global scam.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Two Israelis, Sharon Hazan and Guy Shitrit, are accused of a $129 million AI fraud in the U.S.
- The defendants allegedly used AI to impersonate CEOs and lawyers to trick employees.
- The scam involved instructing employees to transfer funds for supposed secret transactions.
- Jacob Suele, residing in Spain and the UK, is also indicted in the massive fraud scheme.
- The indictment was unsealed in New York, detailing the use of voice and face cloning technology.
Two Israelis, along with a third individual residing in Spain and the UK, have been indicted in the United States for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme totaling $129 million. The accused, identified as Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Shitrit, 42, both from Israel, and Jacob Suele, 41, allegedly utilized advanced artificial intelligence technology to impersonate senior executives and lawyers.
According to the indictment, unsealed in New York, the defendants employed AI to clone the voices and faces of high-ranking officials. These deepfake impersonations were then used to instruct employees within companies worldwide to transfer substantial sums of money, purportedly for confidential transactions. To further legitimize these fraudulent requests, the perpetrators also impersonated legal counsel, convincing employees of the transactions' authenticity.
The scheme aimed to trick employees into believing they were acting on direct orders from their superiors, facilitating the illicit transfer of millions of dollars. The indictment details how the sophisticated use of AI enabled the fraudsters to deceive multiple companies globally.
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