Deepfake scam targets CEO of world's biggest ad firm

The head of the world's biggest advertising group was the target of an elaborate deepfake scam involving an artificial intelligence voice clone.

- Nick Robins

The chief executive of WPP, Mark Read, detailed the attempted fraud in a recent email, warning others at the company to look out for calls claiming to be from top executives.

Fraudsters created a WhatsApp account with a publicly available image of Read and used it to set up a Microsoft Teams meeting that appeared to be with him and another senior WPP executive, according to the email obtained by the Guardian. During the meeting, the impostors deployed a voice clone of the executive as well as YouTube footage of them. The scammers impersonated Read off-camera using the meeting's chat window. The scam, which was unsuccessful, targeted an "agency leader”, asking them to set up a new business in an attempt to solicit money and personal details.

"Fortunately the attackers were not successful," Read wrote in the email. "We all need to be vigilant to the techniques that go beyond emails to take advantage of virtual meetings, AI and deepfakes."