Singapore – Over 100 Singapore government officials have been targeted in a sophisticated deepfake scam, with threat actors sending malicious emails containing sexually explicit deepfakes of the victims.   

The emails, which began circulating on November 26th, were sent to individuals from 31 government agencies. The messages included a deepfake image of the recipient superimposed onto sexually explicit content, accompanied by a demand for a $50,000 cryptocurrency payment to prevent the image from being publicly released.

Among the victims were five ministers, three senior ministers of state, two ministers-in-charge, and two members of parliament.   

The emails appeared to be mass-produced, using the same template and deepfake image with only the victim's face being swapped. The images used in the deepfakes are believed to have been sourced from publicly available platforms such as LinkedIn.   

The Singapore government has condemned the attacks, reporting the matter to the police. So far, no financial losses have been reported.   

Similar incidents have been reported in Hong Kong, where lawmakers received similar emails on November 23rd.   

Singapore's Ministry of Health confirmed that healthcare workers were among those targeted, denouncing the malicious acts. Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information, took to Facebook to comment, stating that "This incident highlights the ease with which contact details of public servants are accessible online."   

As of late November, the police have received over 20 related reports. Individuals who have received such threats are urged to report the matter to the police and submit the emails.   

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