Hong Kong man lost HK$10 million in WhatsApp scam using purported AI voice clone
A Hong Kong man lost over HK$10 million after fraudsters compromised his father's WhatsApp account and sent voice messages impersonating him requesting urgent money transfers. Police indicated the scammers may have used AI voice-cloning technology to make the messages sound authentic, and warned residents against trusting voice messages without verification.
What happened
Fraudsters compromised a Hong Kong resident's father's WhatsApp account and sent voice messages to the son claiming urgent need for money transfers. The victim believed the messages were genuine because the voice and manner of speech resembled his father's.
The scammers first requested HK$1 million for a friend, then HK$200 million, and continued demanding transfers to multiple bank accounts until the victim's savings were exhausted. Police made proactive contact with the victim after the account was used fraudulently, at which point the victim realised he had been scammed and had lost more than HK$10 million.
Reported impact
The victim lost more than HK$10 million. Hong Kong police recorded 150 WhatsApp account hijacking cases in the two weeks prior to 29 July 2026, with total losses exceeding HK$26 million across all cases.
Index analysis
The scammers used voice messages that closely resembled the father's voice and manner of speech, which the victim found convincing. Police indicated that fraudsters may use artificial intelligence to fake the voices of people close to victims after compromising their accounts.
Governance controls
Hong Kong Police's Cyberdefender platform warned residents not to blindly trust voice messages and advised calling the person to verify identity when receiving transfer requests. Police also urged residents to enable two-factor authentication and regularly review devices linked to their accounts.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.