Extortionary Emails with Deepfake Images Sent to the Public Service

Extortionary Emails with Deepfake Images Sent to the Public Service

More than 30 agencies were affected, police investigations are ongoing, and public servants have been advised to remain vigilant and report such emails

Singapore, 28 November 2024 - Over 100 recipients across more than 30 government agencies have reported to GovTech that they received extortionary emails since 26 Nov 2024. The extortionary emails were sent to political office holders, public officers and agencies’ mailboxes demanding 50,000 USDT¹ payment in return for not publishing compromising videos of the political office holders and public officers. The emails contained an image purporting to be a screenshot from the video in question. Manipulated images of political office holders and public officers’ faces were clearly identifiable in the image.

2. All the emails’ contents and images (the purported screenshot from the video) were the same, with the only difference being the face of the political office holder or public officer in the image. The images of the political office holders and public officers appeared to have been sourced from open sources such as LinkedIn. Please refer to Annex A for the list of agencies that have reported the emails, and the list of political office holders affected.

3. The affected agencies have made police reports. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued an advisory on the extortionary emails at 4.05 pm on 27 Nov 2024, and police investigations are ongoing. No monetary loss has been reported thus far. We note that members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council have also received similar emails on 23 Nov 2024.

4. The Government takes a zero-tolerance stance towards the use of deepfakes for extortion or harassment purposes. The public officers who have received similar emails have been advised to report them to the Police immediately. Members of the public are also advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:

a) If you receive a manipulated photograph, video or screenshot, remain calm. Ignore any instructions to initiate contact or make money/cryptocurrency transfers. Doing so emboldens the other party to extort more money/cryptocurrency from you. Report the matter to the Police immediately and provide a copy of the email to the Police.

b) Never share provocative photos/videos/screenshots of yourself online or through chat apps as they might fall into the wrong hands.

¹USDT stands for Tether, a stablecoin cryptocurrency that's pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio.