5 Cabinet ministers among over 100 S’pore civil servants extorted with ‘compromising’ doctored images

Ministers among public officers who received ‘compromising’ doctored images in their email accounts

Extortion attempts have been made via email on more than 100 Singapore public servants across 31 Government agencies.

The victims, which included five Cabinet ministers, received doctored images of themselves in compromising situations.

Extortionary emails received by 12 male political office-holders

The extortionary emails were sent to the accounts of 12 male political office-holders, as well as various public officers and agencies, said the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) in a statement on Thursday (28 Nov) that was quoted by Channel NewsAsia (CNA).

The five Cabinet ministers who received them are:

1. Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport
2. Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for Social and Family Development
3. Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development
4. Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth
5. Dr Maliki Osman, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office

The seven other political office-holders who also received the emails are:

1. Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, and Health
2. Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, and National Development
3. Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Manpower, and Sustainability and the Environment
4. Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Trade and Industry
5. Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State for Home Affairs, and National Development
6. Mr Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and Ministry of Transport
7. Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and Ministry of Social and Family Development

Affected agencies included the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Education ministries, Building and Construction Authority and Singapore Tourism Board.

Doctored images had faces of ministers superimposed onto obscene screenshots

The emails contained doctored images purporting to be screenshots of “compromising” videos.

Recipients’ faces were superimposed onto obscene screenshots of a man and a woman purportedly in an intimate and compromising situation.

All the emails had the same contents and images, except for the faces of the recipients.

The images of their faces appear to have been taken from publicly accessible sources such as LinkedIn, said MDDI.

The emails also demanded 50,000 USDT, a cryptocurrency, in exchange for not releasing the so-called “compromising” videos.

Recipients have reported them to the Government Technology Agency, MDDI said, adding:

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.

Josephine Teo slams ‘despicable’ tactics

In a Facebook post on Thursday night, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said the scammers used “cheapfake” technology, referring to fakes created with cheaper, more accessible software than deepfakes.

Adding that “the criminals’ tactics are despicable”, she noted that this wasn’t just a problem in Singapore but has also happened to public officials overseas.

Members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council received similar emails on 23 Nov, MDDI said.

Healthcare workers also targeted

In a separate statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said staff from public healthcare institutions were among those affected.

MOH was alerted to these emails, which were sent from multiple email addresses, on Tuesday (26 Nov), it added, stating:

All affected individuals have been advised to file reports with the police. No monetary loss has been reported from the affected individuals.

MOH and its healthcare clusters strongly condemned “this malicious act” against healthcare workers and their families, saying they adopt a “zero-tolerance stance against any form of staff harassment and abuse”.

The ministry urged for vigilance and for staff who receive similar emails to report them to the police.

More than 20 police reports made

In a news release on Wednesday (27 Nov), the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it had received more than 20 reports over such emails already.

Manipulated photos, videos and screenshots may increasingly be used for extortion due to technological advances, including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered tools, it added.

Thus, members of the public are advised to stay calm if they get manipulated images and ignore any exhortations to contact the sender or transfer money to them.

They should instead make a police report immediately, with a copy of the email.

Netizens should also never share provocative images of themselves online or via chat apps, as they “might fall into the wrong hands”, SPF said.

Minister & MPs among 70 people extorted with doctored images in April

This is not the first time that politicians in Singapore have been targeted by similar extortion attempts.

In April this year, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and MPs Tan Wu Meng and Edward Chia were among more than 70 people who were sent manipulated “compromising” photos of themselves.

At least one victim reportedly transferred S$20,000 to the scammers.

Also read: Deepfake Videos Of S’pore Ministers Circulate On Social Media, Public Urged To Be Cautious

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Featured image from MS News and adapted from orva studio on Unsplash. Photo on the right for illustration purposes only.