A national newspaper in the Netherlands has revealed more information about the x-ray AI entrepreneur who is still being held in police custody over alleged fraud.
In late October, news broke that a 28-year-old man from Haarlem was in custody on suspicion of large-scale international fraud. Police think he has duped at least 10 people in four countries and has been involved in money laundering and fraud since 2019. He was active in the U.S., Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and his company is registered in Rotterdam.
In an article posted on 9 November, De Telegraaf gave extensive details about the suspect, referred to as "Giuliano S." The Dutch businessman is "amiable but shrewd" and has had an extravagant lifestyle, De Telegraaf reported (access requires log in).
"Lush black hair, dark almond-shaped eyes, often dressed in an expensive suit, driving a lavish sports car. The endearing Dutchman Giuliano S., who founded one company after another, seemed to have made it as an entrepreneur at a young age. Until he was recently, it seems, unmasked as a million-dollar swindler," the article noted.
The man now faces a further period of detainment of nine weeks, during which the police intend to complete their investigation, De Telegraaf stated.
His main company claims to have developed software for analyzing x-rays using AI. Customers who transfer money to the firm never receive a working product, and the money is then moved to a foreign bank account, Dutch police believe.
Despite efforts to strengthen account takeover controls and modernize payment systems, fraudsters have shifted their focus towards exploiting customers using AI-driven scams, Yuval Marco, general manager of enterprise fraud management at NICE Actimize, told Global Banking and Finance Review in an article posted on 11 November.
The 2024 Fraud Insights report by NICE Actimize highlighted a marked increase in authorized fraud volume, indicating that these scams successfully bypass traditional controls. "These schemes present significant challenges to the defenses of financial institutions and threaten financial stability, largely due to evolving reimbursement policies and liability shifts," Marco said.
