Singapore Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong has, once again, warned people of deepfake scams using his image to sell cryptocurrency, money-making schemes, or public relations services. When PM Wong was DPM Wong, his image had been used for deepfakes selling investment scams.
Former Singapore Prime Minister and current Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has also been targeted in the past by scammers using deepfake technology to sell cryptocurrency and spread false views.
There have earlier been at least two reports of Lee Hsien Loong being targeted by deepfakes — once in December 2023 during his term as prime minister; and later in June 2024 when he was senior minister.
Also read: Singapore SM Lee Hsien Loong again targeted by deepfakes; scam videos put out false views
In an X post on Friday, PM Wong wrote: “There are a number of scams using deepfakes or images of me to sell products or services like cryptocurrency, money-making schemes or PR application services. Some of you have written in to report them, and I have also seen them on my feed.”
This message was accompanied on X by a collage stamped “SCAM!” that showed how PM Wong’s image was being fraudulently used.
In a related post, PM Wong urged people not to respond to these scams and not to share any personal information. He also directed people to a link where a scam victim could file an online police report.
In December 2023, around the time when then-PM Lee was targeted by deepfake scammers for luring people into crypto-scams, then-DPM Wong also had his likeness misused for online fraud connected to investments.
A report on this by The Straits Times had said that even the news publication’s logo was used in the deepfake video, in order to fool people into believing that this was an authentic video. The scam video itself was a digitally altered version of a genuine interview that ST had done with Lawrence Wong. Drawing readers’ attention to the deepfake in a 29 December 2023 report, ST said that the scam video was “circulating on Facebook and Instagram”.
It added: “In the video, [deepfake Lawrence Wong’s] mouth is noticeably altered to synchronise with a fake voice-over promoting an investment scam. The voice-over mimics the pitch and intonation of his real voice. The Straits Times’ logo is used at the top right-hand corner of the video.” It added: “The video has modified footage of DPM Wong at a media doorstop interview recorded by ST.”
