Deepfake email scam hits 100 Singapore officials, including five ministers

SINGAPORE, Nov 29 — More than 100 public servants, including five ministers, have been targeted in a deepfake email extortion scam demanding US$50,000 (RM222,000) in cryptocurrency, Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) confirmed yesterday.

The emails, which began circulating on Tuesday, affected over 30 government agencies, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported.

The threatening messages claimed to possess “compromising” videos and included doctored images showing recipients’ faces superimposed onto explicit content. The images were fabricated using publicly sourced photos, such as those from LinkedIn, MDDI said, with only the identifiable faces varying between emails.

The targeted ministers include Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong.

MDDI also disclosed that members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council received similar emails earlier this week.

In a Facebook post, Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, condemned the tactics as “despicable” and reaffirmed the government’s zero-tolerance stance against using deepfake technology for extortion.

Yesterday, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) reported that public healthcare workers were among those targeted by the scam. The emails threatened to expose doctored obscene images unless a ransom was paid.

“All affected individuals have been advised to file reports with the police. To date, no monetary loss has been reported,” MOH stated. The ministry has urged healthcare institutions and staff to remain vigilant.

Singapore police confirmed receiving over 20 similar reports this month, with emails sent to victims’ work addresses. Preliminary investigations suggest that publicly available online data, such as photographs and email addresses, were used to create the targeted threats.

The scam demanded payment in 50,000 USDT (US$50,000) to a cryptocurrency wallet, with threats of severe consequences for non-compliance.

Authorities are actively investigating the incidents.