Top Dem on Senate Foreign Relations panel took fake Zoom call from person posing as Ukraine official

Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on House Foreign Relations Committee, was targeted by a deepfake operation and the FBI is investigating the incident.

“In recent days, a malign actor engaged in a deceptive attempt to have a conversation with me by posing as a known individual," Cardin said in a statement released on Wednesday night. 

"After immediately becoming clear that the individual I was engaging with was not who they claimed to be, I ended the call and my office took swift action, alerting the relevant authorities. This matter is now in the hands of law enforcement, and a comprehensive investigation is underway," he added.

According to a Punchbowl News story citing anonymous sources, the U.S. Senate’s security office informed a "select group of leadership aides and security chiefs" from different Senate committees about the incident.

The unidentified individual was apparently posing as former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on a Zoom call. Going by “Kuleba” on the Zoom platform, the person was asking questions such as, “Do you support long-range missiles into Russian territory? I need to know your answer."