According to a report from business news outlet Bloomberg, the Ferrari executive received a flurry of text messages from an unknown number, purporting to be from the company's CEO.
"Hey, did you hear about the big acquisition we're planning? I could need your help," the first message read – accompanied by a press photo of Mr Vigna as the profile picture.
That was followed by the message: "Be ready to sign the Non-Disclosure Agreement our lawyer is set to send you asap".
Then: "Italy's market regulator and Milan stock-exchange have been already informed. Stay ready and please utmost discretion".
Bloomberg reports the executive then received a phone call from the unknown number, with a voice sounding as if it was indeed the CEO, with his distinctive southern Italian accent.
Citing security concerns, the voice explained he was calling from a different number to discuss a confidential matter, with the company needing to carry out a currency hedge – a strategy of purchasing foreign currency to reduce exposure to exchange rate fluctuations.
According to anonymous Ferrari sources speaking to Bloomberg, the voice was convincing, but the executive was suspicious – and began to notice minor oddities in the intonation of Mr Vigna's phasing.
"Sorry, Benedetto, but I need to identify you," the executive said, before asking what the book was that Mr Vigna had recommended to him just days earlier.
The call ended abruptly, and inquiries quickly determined it had been scammers imitating the Ferrari CEO's voice using artificial intelligence.
The rapid development of publicly accessible AI technology has allowed voices and videos of public figures to be imitated without their knowledge in recent years – with several corporations losing millions of dollars after employees sent money to fraudsters, believing they had been ordered to by Chief Financial Officers.
Source: Bloomberg
