A Blackburn tour operator has been jailed for more than two years after fraudulently securing two £50,000 Covid Bounce Back Loans, despite companies only being entitled to one. Raja Imtiaz, 52, of London Road, Blackburn, dishonestly obtained the loans in June and July 2020 on behalf of his company, Al Fayroz Travel & Tourism Limited. Investigations by the Insolvency Service found he had falsely declared on his second application that it was the firm's only request, even though he had already received the first payment.
In 2024, a scammer used deepfake audio and video to impersonate Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna and attempted to authorize a wire transfer, reportedly tied to an acquisition. Ferrari never confirmed the amount, which rumors placed in the millions of euros. The scheme failed when an executive assistant stopped it by asking a security question only the real CEO could answer. This isn't sci-fi. Deepfakes have jumped from political misinformation to corporate fraud. Ferrari foiled this one - but other companies haven't been so lucky.