Deepfake scam impersonates Belgian royal family to extort money
Scammers have been using AI-generated deepfake videos and voice cloning to impersonate King Philippe of Belgium and royal staff members since early 2025, targeting individuals and business executives with connections to the royal family with requests for money. Most victims detected the fraud, though one payment was successfully transferred before detection.
What happened
Since early 2025, scammers have impersonated King Philippe of Belgium, his chief of staff Vincent Houssiau, and General-Major Stéphane Dutron via telephone, email, and WhatsApp to solicit money from targets carefully selected for their connections to the Belgian royal family.
Initial attempts requested financial support for the alleged liberation of Belgian journalists held hostage in Syria. In early January 2026, a second wave of scam attempts targeted Belgian business executives with AI-generated video meeting invitations and fictional gala dinner invitations requesting sponsorship contributions.
Reported impact
Most victims quickly detected the deception, but in one case a sum of money was actually transferred to the scammers, according to the Belgian Federal Prosecutors Office.
Index analysis
The scammers used AI-generated video to impersonate the king in video meetings, and sent invitations to fictional events designed to convince targets of legitimacy.
Governance controls
The Belgian Federal Prosecutors Office and specialized services of the Belgian Federal Police are conducting the investigation.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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