Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Attica, Greece: a fraud ring cloned relatives' voices with AI to 'confirm' fake fibre-installation instructions; two collectors arrested in Nea Ionia with €30,000 of a victim's valuables, at least six cases since July 2026

On 18 September 2026 the Hellenic Police announced that its Organised Crime Directorate had dismantled a criminal organisation, active since at least early July 2026, whose members defrauded and robbed residents of Attica by posing on the phone as staff of the electricity distributor ΔΕΔΔΗΕ, mobile operators or fibre-optic installers. When a target hesitated, the callers asked for a relative's phone number, called that relative under a mobile-operator pretext to obtain a voice sample, cloned the voice with an AI tool and then played the cloned voice to the target to 'confirm' the instructions. Two men aged 23 and 25, described as the ring's 'collectors', were arrested in Nea Ionia just after removing valuables worth €30,000 from a victim's home; the case file, covering criminal organisation, fraud and aggravated theft with proceeds above €120,000, names four more people. Police have so far confirmed at least five further cases with the same method and estimate the group's total proceeds above €1 million. The two arrested were brought before the prosecutor and referred to an investigating judge.

AI system: Unidentified voice-cloning tool
Occurred: Jul 2026
Reported: 18 September 2026
Event location: Greece

What the AI did: Communicated with the person · Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm: Financial Loss

Whose AI use: Someone else’s AI use
Setting: Finance · Everyday life

Evidence: AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources, 1 underlying account; 4 claims: 4 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed: At least 1 person

AI system as recorded: AI voice-cloning tool (not identified by police)

What Happened

Method (Hellenic Police account). The organisation had a management level, 'callers' and 'collectors'. Callers phoned potential victims and persuaded them to carry out instructions, mostly about a supposed fibre-optic installation, or posed as employees of the electricity distributor ΔΕΔΔΗΕ or of mobile operators. If the victim expressed doubt, the callers told them to check with a relative or other close person to be reassured, obtained that person's phone number, and called the relative pretending to represent a mobile-phone company. During that short call they captured a voice sample and cloned its characteristics with an artificial-intelligence tool. They then called the original victim back and, reproducing the cloned voice, created the impression that the relative was on the line confirming the earlier instructions, overcoming the victim's resistance. Collectors then took money or valuables.

Arrests and scale. Officers of the financial-crime sub-directorate arrested two members, aged 23 and 25, in Nea Ionia at the moment they had removed valuables worth €30,000 from a victim's home. The case file names four further people, three of them identified. Police say the group operated since at least early July 2026, that its involvement in at least five further cases with the same method has been confirmed, that the documented benefit in the file exceeds €120,000, and that the illicit gains are estimated above €1 million. A vehicle stolen on 14 September 2026 served as the group's operational car. No recordings of the cloned voices were released and the tool was not identified.

Reporting. All inspected accounts (tvstar.gr, which reproduces the police release in full; in.gr; The Indicator) rely on the Hellenic Police announcement, so every claim is recorded as reported from one official chain.

Reported harm

A victim lost valuables worth €30,000 to collectors who arrived after calls in which a cloned relative's voice confirmed the fraudsters' instructions; police confirm at least five further victims of the same method and document proceeds above €120,000. The police attribute the persuasion to AI voice cloning; the losses are attributed to the ring.

Outcome

Ongoing

Hellenic Police (Directorate for Combating Organised Crime, Sub-directorate for Financial Crime) operation in Nea Ionia, Attica, announced 18 September 2026: two members (23 and 25) arrested in the act and referred to the investigating judge after the prosecutor; case file for criminal organisation, fraud, and aggravated theft (completed and attempted, jointly and repeatedly) with proceeds above €120,000 including four further persons, three identified; a taxi and two mobile phones seized; a vehicle theft of 14 September 2026 attributed to the group. Investigation continuing.

What remains unknown

The AI voice-cloning tool is not identified and no recording of a cloned call has been published.
The number of people harmed in the five further cases, their losses, and whether any money was recovered are not stated.
The date of the arrests is not given (the release is dated 18 September 2026).
The Hellenic Police release page itself could not be fetched (astynomia.gr 403); its text is taken from full reproductions.
Names and ages of the victims and of the cloned relatives are not published.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The Hellenic Police announcement states that the organisation used artificial-intelligence tools to clone the voice of a relative of the intended victim from a sample obtained in a pretext call, and played the cloned voice to the victim to confirm the fraudsters' instructions. The cloned voice impersonated the relative and was used to speak to the victim, which is why both relations are recorded. The tool is not identified and no recording has been published; all inspected accounts relay the police release.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The organisation used an AI tool to clone the voice of a relative of the intended victim, obtained from a pretext call, and played the cloned voice to the victim to confirm the fraudsters' instructions during fake fibre-installation or utility scenarios.

Causal attribution. Hellenic Police statement; single official chain.

tvstar.gr(opens in new tab) supports · Greek
'Ιδιαίτερο χαρακτηριστικό της δράσης της εγκληματικής οργάνωσης αποτελούσε η χρήση εργαλείων τεχνητής νοημοσύνης (A.I.) για την κλωνοποίηση της φωνής συγγενικού προσώπου του υποψήφιου θύματος'; 'Κατά τη διάρκεια της σύντομης συνομιλίας αποκτούσαν δείγμα της φωνής του και, με τη χρήση εργαλείου τεχνητής νοημοσύνης, προέβαιναν στην κλωνοποίηση'
in.gr(opens in new tab) supports · Greek
'επικοινωνούσαν τηλεφωνικά με τα υποψήφια θύματα και τα έπειθαν να προβούν σε συγκεκριμένες ενέργειες'; 'κυρίως για θέματα που αφορούν την εγκατάσταση οπτικής ίνας'; 'αναπαράγοντας μέσω της τεχνολογίας κλωνοποίησης τη φωνή του συγγενικού ή οικείου του προσώπου'

Reported Two members aged 23 and 25 were arrested in Nea Ionia, Attica, immediately after removing valuables worth €30,000 from a victim's home.

Causal attribution. Police account of the arrest; the loss is attributed to the ring.

tvstar.gr(opens in new tab) supports · Greek
'συνελήφθησαν -2- από τα μέλη της οργάνωσης, τη στιγμή που μόλις είχαν αφαιρέσει από οικία θύματος, τιμαλφή αξίας -30.000- ευρώ'; 'Πρόκειται για έναν 23χρονο και έναν 25χρονο'
in.gr(opens in new tab) supports · Greek
'συνελήφθησαν δύο από τα μέλη της οργάνωσης, τη στιγμή που μόλις είχαν αφαιρέσει από οικία θύματος, τιμαλφή αξίας 30.000 ευρώ'

Reported Police have confirmed the group's involvement in at least five further cases with the same method, document proceeds above €120,000 in the case file, which names four further people, and estimate total illicit gains above €1 million; the group operated since at least early July 2026.

Causal attribution. Police figures; the €1 million is an estimate and is not used as a loss count.

tvstar.gr(opens in new tab) supports · Greek
'Μέχρι στιγμής έχει πιστοποιηθεί η εμπλοκή των μελών της οργάνωσης σε επιπλέον -5- περιπτώσεις με παρόμοια μεθοδολογία'; 'με όφελος άνω των -120.000- ευρώ, περιλαμβάνονται ακόμη -4- άτομα'; 'το παράνομο περιουσιακό όφελος από τη δράση της εγκληματικής οργάνωσης ξεπερνά το -1.000.000- ευρώ'; 'τουλάχιστον από τις αρχές Ιουλίου 2026'
indicator.gr(opens in new tab) supports · Greek
'Μέχρι στιγμής έχουν διακριβωθεί ακόμη πέντε περιπτώσεις με παρόμοια μεθοδολογία'; 'Το παράνομο περιουσιακό όφελος που αποδίδεται στη δράση της ομάδας εκτιμάται ότι ξεπερνά το 1 εκατομμύριο ευρώ'

Reported The two arrested were brought before the prosecutor and referred to an investigating judge; a taxi and two mobile phones were seized and a vehicle stolen on 14 September 2026 was attributed to the group.

Causal attribution. Police statement.

tvstar.gr(opens in new tab) supports · Greek
'Οι συλληφθέντες οδηγήθηκαν στον αρμόδιο Εισαγγελέα και παραπέμφθηκαν στον Ανακριτή'; 'κατασχέθηκαν ένα όχημα Δημόσιας Χρήσης και -2- συσκευές κινητής τηλεφωνίας'; 'κλοπή οχήματος που τελέστηκε στις 14/9/2026'

Sources

3 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

tvstar.gr (STAR Κεντρικής Ελλάδας), 18 September 2026: Κλωνοποιούσαν με Τεχνητή Νοημοσύνη τις φωνές συγγενών για να πείθουν τα θύματά τους (reproduces the Hellenic Police release in full)(opens in new tab)
s1 · tvstar.gr · News report · Greek · Inspected · 18 September 2026 · Shares an underlying account with another listed source · Primary
in.gr(opens in new tab)
s2 · News report · Greek · Inspected · Shares an underlying account with another listed source
indicator.gr(opens in new tab)
s3 · News report · Greek · Inspected · Shares an underlying account with another listed source

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in Greek on 2026-09-19; the second half of the article reproduces the Hellenic Police announcement verbatim. Quotations translated by the reviewer. Applies to s1.

Read in Greek on 2026-09-19; carries the police announcement text ('Σύμφωνα με την ΕΛ.ΑΣ.'). Applies to s2.

Read in Greek on 2026-09-19; a rewritten account of the same police announcement ('σύμφωνα με τις πληροφορίες', 'σύμφωνα με την ΕΛ.ΑΣ.'), grouped with it. Applies to s3.

Event countries: Greece. Affected-person countries: Greece. Court countries: Greece.

Arrests in Nea Ionia, Attica, at a victim's home; the police describe an Attica-based operation; the arrested were brought before the competent prosecutor and referred to an investigating judge (Hellenic Police release as reproduced by tvstar.gr and in.gr).

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-19: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an impersonation-fraud series with a police-documented loss to an identified (unnamed) victim and at least five further confirmed victims, where the police describe AI voice cloning as the method of persuasion. Three Greek reports read, all relaying one Hellenic Police release; claims recorded as reported. Victims and relatives unnamed; suspects identified only by age.

People described

Residents of Attica targeted by phone and at home, unnamed; one victim whose valuables worth €30,000 were taken at the time of the arrests; at least five further victims; the relatives whose voices were cloned

People reported harmed in this case

At least 1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

The police release describes one victim from whose home valuables worth €30,000 had just been removed when the arrests took place, and 'at least five further cases with a similar methodology' without saying how many people each involved. One counted person plus additional unquantified victims (partial). The €120,000 in the case file and the estimated €1 million in proceeds are not person counts.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Attica, Greece: a fraud ring cloned relatives' voices with AI to 'confirm' fake fibre-installation instructions; two collectors arrested in Nea Ionia with €30,000 of a victim's valuables, at least six cases since July 2026. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-attica-nea-ionia-ai-voice-clone-relative-fraud-ring

BibTeX

@misc{2026_attica_nea_ionia_ai_voice_clone_relative_fraud_ring,
  title = {Attica, Greece: a fraud ring cloned relatives' voices with AI to 'confirm' fake fibre-installation instructions; two collectors arrested in Nea Ionia with €30,000 of a victim's valuables, at least six cases since July 2026},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-attica-nea-ionia-ai-voice-clone-relative-fraud-ring}
}

Bhopal: a security guard lost about Rs 35,000 to a caller whose voice sounded like a friend, reported as a suspected AI voice-cloning fraud

Free Press Journal reported on 4 October 2026 that a 50-year-old security guard from the TT Nagar area of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, was cheated of nearly Rs 35,000 after a caller impersonated a friend by mimicking the friend's voice. According to the report, the call came on 30 September from an unidentified person who claimed to need money urgently and sent a QR code. The guard made three transfers (Rs 5,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000), then reached the friend on the friend's own number and learned that the friend had not called. The outlet calls it a suspected case of AI-enabled fraud with a suspected AI-cloned voice. TT Nagar police registered a case and opened an investigation. No source confirms that the voice was AI-generated.

Medium Unidentified voice-cloning tool

Picos, Piauí, Brazil: a digital influencer lost more than R$56,000 when fraudsters sent him audio messages in his uncle's AI-cloned voice 'confirming' a car he was buying in Fortaleza

On Monday 10 August 2026 a digital influencer from Picos, in the centre-south of Piauí, began negotiating a car advertised online for sale in Fortaleza (Ceará), where an uncle of his lives, and asked the sellers to take the car to the uncle so he could inspect it. On Tuesday 11 August a contact using a different number but the uncle's photo sent him audio messages in a voice identical to his uncle's, generated with artificial intelligence, saying the car was in good condition and telling him to make the bank transfer. Believing he was speaking to his uncle, he transferred the money; when he then called the uncle's real number he learned he had been defrauded. The loss exceeded R$56,000, money he says he had saved for years. He registered a police report on 11 August; the Piauí property-crimes unit (Depatri) is investigating and he is seeking a refund from the banks. The account is the victim's own, reported by G1 Piauí on 13 August 2026 from his social-media posts and an interview; the police unit did not respond to G1 before publication.

Low Unidentified voice-cloning tool

Natore, Bangladesh: callers told a health-complex employee that his son had been arrested with drugs, then used an AI-cloned copy of the son's voice to win his trust and took Tk 40,000; two men were arrested in Gaibandha in September 2026

According to a press release from Special Response Battalion-13 (SRB-13), relayed by Ajker Patrika, DBC News and NTV, on 20 July 2026 a man who works at the Natore Sadar upazila health complex received a call saying that his younger son had been arrested by police with drugs. The callers then used AI to imitate the son's voice so that the father believed the story, and demanded money to get the son released. He sent a total of Tk 40,000 in two payments through the mobile financial service Nagad, and realised it was a fraud when he reached his son directly. He filed a fraud case at Natore Sadar police station on 25 September 2026. That evening SRB-13 arrested two men, described as the ring's leader and an associate, at their homes in Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, seizing nine mobile phones, a passport and Tk 14,100 in cash; SRB says they admitted involvement during initial questioning and handed them to the police for further legal action, and NTV reports they were sent to Gaibandha district jail through the court on 26 September.

High Unidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)

Hong Kong police report a victim lost over HK$10m after a voice message from a hijacked WhatsApp account imitated the victim's father, reportedly by deepfake

Hong Kong police said on their CyberDefender social media page, reported on 29 July 2026, that a victim received a WhatsApp voice message from the victim's father's hijacked account asking for an urgent transfer of HK$1 million to a friend. The voice and manner of speech were very similar to the father's, and the victim made the transfer, then a further HK$2 million requested the same way, then payments to several bank accounts on different pretexts, until the savings account was empty. The victim realised the fraud only after police made contact, with a reported total loss of more than HK$10 million. Police said scammers in WhatsApp hijackings may use AI to fake the voices of people close to the victim, and outlets that published reports on 30 and 31 August 2026 of a police briefing described the case as one involving a deepfake voice message imitating the father, while one outlet said the deepfake use was suspected. No source reports analysis of the audio. The loss and the voice characterisation rest on police statements relayed by outlets, and the month of July 2026 rests on one outlet.

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