Police obtain footage of fake Zoom meeting in scam impersonating PM Wong
One victim lost at least S$4.9 million (US$3.8 million) in what was purportedly funding assistance related to the Strait of Hormuz.
A screengrab of the AI-generated footage fabricating a Zoom video conference with senior government officials, including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Minister Indranee Rajah. (Image: Singapore Police Force)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Police Force has obtained footage of the AI-generated Zoom video conference that was part of a scam involving the impersonation of senior government officials, including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, it said on Saturday (May 16).
In one case, a victim lost at least S$4.9 million (US$3.8 million) in what was claimed to be funding assistance 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 PM Wong.
They would then be invited to a Zoom video conference - fabricated using deepfake AI technology - that appeared to involve Mr Wong as well as other local and overseas government officials.
The footage obtained by the police showed a fabricated Zoom video conference about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, purportedly involving Mr Wong, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister Indranee Rajah and representatives from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The meeting also supposedly included foreign government officials such as Canada's foreign minister and the senior diplomatic advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates, as well as private sector participants such as Blackrock and the Dubai International Financial Centre.
"The victim would be introduced to the meeting as one of the private sector participants," said the police.
"The video conference would then proceed with a brief by the various government officials about the situation in the Straits of Hormuz and end with a deepfake video of PM Wong delivering closing remarks, which included an acknowledgement of the victim’s attendance at that video conference."
Then a scammer, masquerading as a lawyer, would separately contact the victims and convince them to transfer money.
In an advisory on Thursday warning of more such cases emerging, police said that the scammers appear to be targeting business professionals who have had prior interactions with government officials.
Of the footage, the police said on Saturday that it observed signs of deepfake technology.
For instance, the speech did not synchronise with the speakers' lips. This indicated fake audio was layered on and that the videos of the speakers were pre-recorded.
Secondly, the speech was broadcast via one account throughout the call instead of through the call participants.
"This indicates that pre-recorded, inauthentic speech was layered on to videos of impersonated officials, and broadcast through one main account," said police.
In addition, the footage depicted a distorted background and a partially obscured Zoom logo that did not align with the foreground, proving that the videos were manipulated using AI technology.
Members of the public are encouraged to remain vigilant and be extra cautious especially when contacted through virtual means, said the police.
"Deepfake AI fabrications can be sophisticated, and it can be difficult to differentiate between authentic and inauthentic content," they added.
The police said that Singapore government officials will never do the following over emails, phone or video calls:
- Ask you to transfer money
- Ask you to disclose bank login details
- Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores
- Transfer your call to the police or any other government officials
Members of the public can report possible scams, false news or advertisements on social media to the platform's administrator or to the police. For verification, they can also call the ScamShield helpline at 1799.
