5 ministers among over 100 victims in govt to be deepfaked and blackmailed

SINGAPORE – Five Cabinet ministers were among more than 100 recipients across 31 government agencies who have received e-mails demanding payment over doctored images since Nov 26.

These images are supposedly screenshots from videos where victims’ faces are superimposed onto those of individuals in compromising situations. The e-mails all have the same contents and images, with the only difference being the face of the victim.

In a statement on Nov 28, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said 12 male political office-holders were affected, in addition to public officers.

The five Cabinet ministers are:

• Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat
• Culture, Community and Youth Minister Edwin Tong
• National Development Minister Desmond Lee
• Social and Family Development Minister Masagos Zulkifli
• Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman

Also affected are senior ministers of state Janil Puthucheary, Tan Kiat How and Koh Poh Koon; ministers of state Alvin Tan and Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim; and senior parliamentary secretaries Baey Yam Keng and Eric Chua.

The e-mails demanded 50,000 USDT, a digital currency, in return for not releasing the visuals.

The images of the victims appeared to have been taken from publicly available sources such as LinkedIn, MDDI said.

The affected agencies included the Home Affairs, Education and Manpower ministries, as well as statutory boards such as the Building and Construction Authority and Singapore Tourism Board.

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They have reported the e-mails to the Government Technology Agency, or GovTech.

In a separate statement earlier in the day, the Ministry of Health said staff from public healthcare institutions have been receiving such e-mails. The ministry was alerted to these e-mails on Nov 26. 

The affected agencies have made police reports, and no money has been reported lost so far.

Members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council also received similar e-mails on Nov 23, said MDDI.

MOH said that it “condemns this malicious act against our healthcare workers and their families”.

“The criminals’ tactics are despicable. Earlier this year, the police had reported that some Singaporeans have fallen victim to similar scams, with some transferring money to the perpetrators,” Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said on Facebook on Nov 28.

“This latest wave seems to target public officials, whose contact details are easily accessible online.”

On Nov 27, the police said they received more than 20 reports of such cases from the public in late November.

Those who have received such threats are advised to report them and hand over the e-mails to the police.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.