In February 2026, scammers took about €95 million from Fideuram, the private-banking arm of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy's largest bank. The story became public on 25 September 2026. According to press reports, the trick used two ordinary things: a WhatsApp message and a phone call with a voice that was not real.
What happened. The then-chairman of Fideuram received a WhatsApp message from someone pretending to be the chief executive of Intesa Sanpaolo. A phone call followed, using an AI-made copy of the voice of a real lawyer, confirming the instruction. Believing it, the bank moved the money. More than half of the money has since been frozen or recovered, from accounts in China and Portugal, but at least €36 million is reported missing, apparently sent on into cryptocurrency. Prosecutors in Milan are investigating a foreign national.
Why this matters to you. These were experienced bankers who handle huge transfers every day, and they were still fooled. The lesson is not that they were careless. It is that a familiar name on WhatsApp and a familiar voice on the phone are no longer proof of who is really there. The same trick, at a smaller scale, is what scammers use on families: a "grandchild" in trouble, a "boss" asking for a quick favour.
What to do instead.
- Check through a second channel. If someone asks for money or codes, hang up and call back on a number you already have, not one they give you.
- Treat "it must be done right now" as a warning sign. Pressure is the scammer's main tool. A real person can wait ten minutes while you check.
- Agree a family password that only your close family knows. Our guide to family safe words shows how.
For more, read how AI voice cloning scams work, how to tell if a phone call uses an AI voice, and what to do if you sent money to a scammer.