Recently, deepfake videos of Singapore ministers promoting investment scams have begun circulating on social media.
One such video consists of Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong discussing an investment opportunity with an interviewer, prompting viewers to click on a link.
In another, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Lawrence Wong promotes an investment scam.
The public has been urged to report these videos if they encounter them on social media.
On 29 Dec, PM Lee posted to Facebook, sharing that a deepfake video using his image had been circulating online.
The video shows him in an interview with Chinese news network CGTN, talking about an investment opportunity that the Singapore government had apparently approved.
During the video, the duo even referred to it as a “revolutionary investment platform designed by Elon Musk.”
It eventually ends with the interviewer prompting viewers to click on a link to register for the platform as a way to get “passive income.”
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports that the deepfake video was made using footage from CGTN’s actual interview with PM Lee back in March.
“If you see or receive these scam videos promising guaranteed returns on investments or ‘giveaways’, please do not respond to them,” PM Lee said, adding that the actual interviews were on the official YouTube account of the PM’s Office (PMO).
He went on to urge those who encountered the videos to report them to the official ScamShield Bot on WhatsApp.
Another deepfake video shows DPM Wong similarly promoting an investment scam, The Straits Times (ST) reports.
Using the ST logo, the footage shows DPM Wong speaking in synchronisation with a fake voice-over promoting an investment scam.
The scammers had altered the movements of his mouth, with the voice-over mimicking his real voice as well.
ST said that the video contained modified footage of DPM Wong at a media doorstop interview that ST had recorded.
Addressing the altered footage, an SPH media spokeswoman said the company or ST had not created or published it.
“It has come to our attention that there is a video attributed to The Straits Times, featuring Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong endorsing commercial projects, circulating online,” she said.
“We urge members of the public to stay vigilant and not circulate videos of unknown sources.”
Police have also confirmed that they have received a report regarding the video.
These recent deepfake videos point to a growing concern about the rise of such scams tricking victims into falling for misinformation.
According to CNA, the Sumsub Identity Fraud Report 2023 found that deepfakes jumped by five times in 2022.
To avoid falling for these scams, there are several anomalies in such deepfakes that viewers can look out for.
For instance, atypical facial movements, blinking patterns, visible edits around the face, the audio not matching up with lip movements or a blurry video quality are signs that the video is a deepfake.
After encountering suspicious videos such as these on platforms including YouTube and Facebook, viewers can report them through a series of steps.
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Featured image adapted from PM Lee on Facebook.
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