Fraudsters used AI voice cloning technology and deepfake techniques to impersonate WPP CEO Mark Read in an unsuccessful attempt to solicit money and personal details from company executives through a fake Microsoft Teams meeting.
In 2024, scammers targeted WPP, the world's largest advertising company with an $11.3 billion market cap, using sophisticated deepfake technology to impersonate CEO Mark Read. The fraudsters created a fake WhatsApp account using a publicly available image of Read and used it to set up a Microsoft Teams meeting with WPP executives. During the meeting, the attackers deployed an AI voice clone of Read and another senior WPP executive, along with YouTube footage to make the impersonation more convincing. The scammers impersonated Read off-camera using the meeting's chat function. The target was described as an 'agency leader' who was asked to set up a new business as a pretext for extracting money and personal details. The scam was unsuccessful due to the vigilance of WPP employees, including the targeted executive. Read subsequently sent an email to company leadership warning about the sophistication of such attacks and providing guidance on identifying red flags, including requests for passports, money transfers, or involvement in secret transactions. WPP confirmed the incident was prevented and stated they had been working with authorities to combat fraudulent use of their brand name.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to gain a personal advantage over others such as through cheating, fraud, scams, blackmail or targeted manipulation of beliefs or behavior. Examples include AI-facilitated plagiarism for research or education, impersonating a trusted or fake individual for illegitimate financial benefit, or creating humiliating or sexual imagery.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed