A Ferrari executive reportedly challenged a caller impersonating CEO Benedetto Vigna with a question about a book Vigna had recommended days earlier. The caller ended the call. The episode shows why a familiar voice—even one that sounds convincing—is not enough to verify a high-stakes request.
What happened in the reported Ferrari deepfake call?
In July 2024, a Ferrari executive reportedly received WhatsApp messages from a number that was not Vigna’s usual business number. The sender claimed to be Vigna and said he was using a different number because of a confidential deal. The messages invoked a major acquisition and an urgent transaction; a subsequent call reportedly sought help with a currency hedge tied to possible China-related complications. Fortune’s account attributed the details to people familiar with the episode who were not named because of its sensitivity. Ferrari representatives declined to comment, and the company’s reported internal investigation was not a public incident statement.
The caller reportedly imitated Vigna’s southern Italian accent, but the executive noticed suspicious details, including slightly mechanical intonations. Rather than rely on the sound of the voice, he asked: “What was the title of the book Vigna had just recommended to him a few days earlier?” The answer was Decalogue of Complexity: Acting, Learning and Adapting in the Incessant Becoming of the World, by Alberto Felice De Toni. The caller abruptly ended the call, according to the report.
A 2025 Saudi Digital Government Authority anti-fraud guideline later summarized a similar case. It is a later summary, not the original reporting.
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Why the personal question worked—and what it does not prove
The book question tested shared context the impersonator might not have known. It gave the executive a reason to challenge the caller without treating voice resemblance as proof of identity. The reported caller’s abrupt exit strengthened the suspicion, but it does not establish exactly who made the call or prove how the voice was generated.
A private question is a clue, not a dependable authentication protocol. Someone may know or discover the answer, and a legitimate caller may not remember it. The account does not establish that such questions are foolproof; the safer principle is to verify identity through a separate, trusted channel.
How to verify a suspicious caller before acting
- Stop the transaction. Do not transfer money, share credentials, disclose confidential information, or approve a financial action while the caller’s identity is uncertain.
- End the interaction. If the request or caller seems suspicious, hang up rather than continuing to test the voice or negotiate.
- Start a new contact using a trusted route. Call the person or organization using contact details obtained independently from its official website, app, or established internal directory. Do not use a number, link, or callback route supplied in the suspicious message.
- Confirm the request itself. Ask the verified contact through the organization’s normal process whether they made the request and whether it is authorized. Follow established approval controls for financial or confidential actions.
TechCrunch recommends hanging up on a suspicious caller and contacting the organization through details from its official website or app. This approach checks identity independently instead of trying to decide whether a voice sounds real.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why voice recognition alone is becoming less dependable
In an April 17, 2025 speech on bank cybersecurity, Federal Reserve Governor Michael S. Barr cautioned: “Identity verification standards at banks often use voice detection, which may become vulnerable to Gen AI tools.” His warning is about the vulnerability of voice-based checks; it does not show that a particular voice system was used in the Ferrari incident.
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Barr’s speech also relayed a 2024 survey finding that over 10 percent of companies had experienced deepfake fraud attempts. That figure is attributed to Barr’s speech describing the survey, not to a Federal Reserve survey. The cited passage does not establish the survey’s full methodology or population, so it should not be read as a universal rate.
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What organizations can take from the incident
- Make unusual requests verifiable. Require sensitive financial actions to be confirmed through a separate, known channel, especially when a request is urgent or framed as confidential.
- Keep approval processes in force. A senior-sounding caller should not bypass normal authorization or separation-of-duties controls.
- Train staff to pause and verify. The useful habit is not memorizing a secret question; it is stopping a pressured interaction and independently confirming both the person and the request.
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