How a victim lost US$3.8 million in Singapore deepfake Zoom scam impersonating PM Wong
Police have obtained footage of the video conference linked to the sophisticated scam impersonating Wong, President Tharman and other officials
In one case, a victim lost at least S$4.9 million (US$3.8 million) in what was claimed to be funding help related to the Strait of Hormuz, police said earlier.
Victims would typically receive a WhatsApp message from a scammer impersonating the secretary to the cabinet, asking them to attend a meeting with Wong.
They would then be invited to a Zoom video conference – fabricated using deepfake artificial intelligence technology – that appeared to involve Wong, as well as other local and overseas government officials.
The meeting also supposedly included foreign government officials such as Canada’s foreign minister and the senior diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, as well as private sector participants such as BlackRock and the Dubai International Financial Centre.