The chief executive of Octopus Energy has been impersonated by fraudsters using AI technology to mimic his voice in an attempt to scam the business out of hundreds of thousands of euros.
Greg Jackson has described the impersonation, which took place in a voice note sent on WhatsApp, as “eerily impressive”.
Posting on social media, the Octopus boss has shared two recordings in which an attempt is made to trick his contacts into believing he was speaking to them.
In one note Jackson is heard saying: “I am writing to you from my personal phone. I need you to manage a sensitive file for the group and it cannot be discussed with everybody. What’s your schedule for the next 24 hours?”
AI fraud is very real.
Here’s a couple of very recent examples – the WAs are mildly plausible (and the numbers are the fraudsters’ not mine!) – but listen to the audio… the “impersonation” is eerily impressive (esp the second part of the clip)… pic.twitter.com/OrRUiJlHyX
— Greg Jackson (@g__j) February 8, 2024
The recipient, Octopus Energy Spain chief executive Roberto Giner, responded by saying he was “fully available to talk”, indicating he was convinced the request purportedly from Jackson was genuine.
A follow up message from the fraudulent number indicated Jackson wished to discuss a “serious deal” being struck by the company, which would see Octopus “take over the full control” of a “very large multinational abroad”.
The fraudsters then indicated that ‘Jackson’ wanted to see money transferred out of a foreign bank account as part of the deal.
Later messages show that the criminals were attempting to convince Giner to transfer €850,000.
More messages claiming to be from Jackson concerned the purchase of an overseas company which will enhance Octopus’ market position in Asia. This time Jackson appears to be asking a contact for help with the deal.
Another message states the deal is “of utmost importance for the group and is strictly confidential”. It adds that a down payment of 1% of the total amount of the acquisition is required for the deal to go through.
Utility Week has contacted Jackson for comment.
Responding to the messages, an Ofcom spokesperson said: “Tackling fraud is a priority for Ofcom, and the UK’s new online safety laws will be an important part of making it harder for fraudsters to operate.
“Under the new laws, online services will have to assess the risk of their users encountering illegal content and activity on their platforms, including fraud. They will need to take appropriate steps to protect their users and remove illegal content when they identify it or are told about it. And the largest platforms will need to consistently apply their terms of service.
“The Online Safety Act requires Ofcom to set out Codes of Practice and Guidance. Straight after the new laws were passed, we exercised our new powers by consulting on our Codes and Guidance for tackling illegal harms, including fraud. We are aiming to finalise these Codes towards the end of this year, after which they will become enforceable. We expect services to be fully prepared to comply with their new duties when they come into force. If they don’t comply, we’ll have a broad range of enforcement powers at our disposal to ensure they’re held fully accountable for the safety of their users.”