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Incident 983: Scammers Reportedly Used AI Voice Clone and YouTube Footage to Impersonate WPP CEO in Unsuccessful Scam Attempt

Description: Scammers reportedly attempted to impersonate WPP CEO Mark Read using AI-generated voice cloning and YouTube footage in a Microsoft Teams scam. They allegedly created a fake WhatsApp account with Read’s image and used deepfake audio to deceive an agency leader into setting up a new business. The scheme, which was unsuccessful, aimed to solicit money and personal data.

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Alleged: Unknown deepfake technology developer and Unknown voice cloning technology developed an AI system deployed by scammers , Fraudsters and Scammers impersonating Mark Read, which harmed Mark Read , WPP , WPP employees and General public.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Unknown voice cloning technology , Unknown deepfake app , YouTube , Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp

Incident Stats

Incident ID
983
Report Count
13
Incident Date
2024-05-10
Editors

Incident Reports

Reports Timeline

+7
CEO of world’s biggest ad firm targeted by deepfake scam
+3
AI voice, fake WhatsApp account: How scammers targeted CEO of world’s biggest ad firm using deepfake
WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deepfake AI scamDeepfake scams escalate, hitting more than half of businesses
CEO of world’s biggest ad firm targeted by deepfake scam

CEO of world’s biggest ad firm targeted by deepfake scam

theguardian.com

CEO of world's biggest ad agency falls victim to elaborate deepfake scam

CEO of world's biggest ad agency falls victim to elaborate deepfake scam

nypost.com

Boss of world’s biggest ad firm impersonated by AI in elaborate deepfake scam

Boss of world’s biggest ad firm impersonated by AI in elaborate deepfake scam

telegraph.co.uk

The Drum’s Daily Briefing: Apple’s ad apology and beware the WPP AI voice scam

The Drum’s Daily Briefing: Apple’s ad apology and beware the WPP AI voice scam

thedrum.com

WPP boss targeted by deepfake scammers using voice clone

WPP boss targeted by deepfake scammers using voice clone

ft.com

WPP CEO Addresses Deepfake Scam Attempt

WPP CEO Addresses Deepfake Scam Attempt

designrush.com

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deepfake attack

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deepfake attack

adgully.com

AI voice, fake WhatsApp account: How scammers targeted CEO of world’s biggest ad firm using deepfake

AI voice, fake WhatsApp account: How scammers targeted CEO of world’s biggest ad firm using deepfake

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

WPP chief exec Mark Read targeted by deepfake scammers

WPP chief exec Mark Read targeted by deepfake scammers

mmm-online.com

WPP CEO Impersonated in Deepfake Scheme to Steal Execs Money

WPP CEO Impersonated in Deepfake Scheme to Steal Execs Money

entrepreneur.com

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deep fake AI scam

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deep fake AI scam

bizcommunity.com

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deepfake AI scam

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deepfake AI scam

marketing-interactive.com

Deepfake scams escalate, hitting more than half of businesses

Deepfake scams escalate, hitting more than half of businesses

cybersecuritydive.com

CEO of world’s biggest ad firm targeted by deepfake scam
theguardian.com · 2024

The head of the world’s biggest advertising group was the target of an elaborate deepfake scam that involved an artificial intelligence voice clone. The CEO of WPP, Mark Read, detailed the attempted fraud in a recent email to leadership, wa…

CEO of world's biggest ad agency falls victim to elaborate deepfake scam
nypost.com · 2024

The CEO of WPP fell victim to an elaborate deepfake scam that involved voice-cloning the boss to solicit money and personal details from the company’s workforce.

Mark Read, the CEO of WPP, a London-based communications and advertising compa…

Boss of world’s biggest ad firm impersonated by AI in elaborate deepfake scam
telegraph.co.uk · 2024

The boss of one of the world's largest advertising companies was impersonated by artificial intelligence (AI) in an elaborate deepfake scam.

Fraudsters mimicked Mark Read, chief executive of WPP, in a recent video meeting in an attempt to s…

The Drum’s Daily Briefing: Apple’s ad apology and beware the WPP AI voice scam
thedrum.com · 2024

Apple admits fault in iPad Pro campaign

Apple has issued an apology for its latest iPad Pro advertisement, which has been condemned for being "out of touch" with its creative community.

As we reported yesterday, few ads in recent memory hav…

WPP boss targeted by deepfake scammers using voice clone
ft.com · 2024

Mark Read, chief executive of WPP, has been the target of a deepfake scam in which criminals used a voice clone and public YouTube footage to set up a video meeting with his executives.

In an email to colleagues seen by the Financial Times,…

WPP CEO Addresses Deepfake Scam Attempt
designrush.com · 2024

WPP CEO Mark Read recently fell victim to a deepfake scam, with perpetrators attempting to defraud the advertising executive using sophisticated tactics involving AI-generated voice cloning and manipulated video footage.

In an email to comp…

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deepfake attack
adgully.com · 2024

WPP CEO Mark Read came under a phishing attack utilizing a sophisticated deepfake scam. Read's email to leadership detailed the incident, raising awareness about the growing threat of AI-powered scams exploiting virtual meetings and deepfak…

AI voice, fake WhatsApp account: How scammers targeted CEO of world’s biggest ad firm using deepfake
timesofindia.indiatimes.com · 2024

Mark Read, the CEO of WPP – the world's largest advertising company as of 2023 – has reportedly been targeted by scammers. A report says that fraudsters used a deepfake technique to set up a call but were unable to successfully execute the …

WPP chief exec Mark Read targeted by deepfake scammers
mmm-online.com · 2024

WPP chief executive Mark Read was the target of a deepfake scam involving an artificial intelligence voice clone.

Fraudsters set up a WhatsApp account with an image of Read and then used it to set up a Microsoft Teams meeting with another s…

WPP CEO Impersonated in Deepfake Scheme to Steal Execs Money
entrepreneur.com · 2024

As deepfakes become more prevalent, phishing attacks on companies have become more complex and harder to identify.

Last week, at the largest advertising agency in the world, London-based communications and advertising firm WPP, hackers atte…

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deep fake AI scam
bizcommunity.com · 2024

The scam was unsuccessful.

In a statement quoted by The Guardian a WPP spokesperson confirmed the phishing attempt bore no fruit. “Thanks to the vigilance of our people, including the executive concerned, the incident was prevented.”

Report…

WPP CEO Mark Read targeted by deepfake AI scam
marketing-interactive.com · 2024

Mark Read (pictured), the chief executive officer of advertising agency WPP, has been the target of a deepfake scam that involved an artificial intelligence (AI) voice clone. 

The scammers reportedly created a WhatsApp account using a publi…

Deepfake scams escalate, hitting more than half of businesses
cybersecuritydive.com · 2024
  • Just over half of businesses in the U.S. and U.K. have been targets of a financial scam powered by “deepfake” technology, with 43% falling victim to such attacks, according to a survey by finance software provider Medius.
  • Of the 1,533 U.S.…

Variants

A "variant" is an incident that shares the same causative factors, produces similar harms, and involves the same intelligent systems as a known AI incident. Rather than index variants as entirely separate incidents, we list variations of incidents under the first similar incident submitted to the database. Unlike other submission types to the incident database, variants are not required to have reporting in evidence external to the Incident Database. Learn more from the research paper.

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