PM Wong warns of deepfakes of him promoting scam products, services
"Do not respond to these scams or share any of your personal information," said Mr Wong.
A screengrab of a deepfake video of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Mar 7) warned about deepfake videos and images of him selling products or services such as cryptocurrency, money-making schemes and Permanent Resident application services.
In a Facebook post, Mr Wong said there are a number of such scams circulating and that he has also seen them on his feed.Â
Some of the deepfake videos that CNA has seen used an AI-cloned voice of Mr Wong.
"Do not respond to these scams or share any of your personal information," said Mr Wong, who urged people to report such scams via ScamShield.Â
Those who have fallen victim can also make a police report online, he added, as he reminded people to stay vigilant online.
This is not the first time a Singapore leader has been the subject of deepfake videos.
In June 2024, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned people about deepfake videos of him commenting on international relations and foreign leaders.
"The motive of these deepfakes may not be commercial, but their malicious intent is clear," Mr Lee then said in a Facebook post.
"Someone behind them wants to make it seem that these are views supported by me or the Singapore government. This is dangerous and potentially harmful to our national interests."
He also asked members of the public in December 2023 not to respond to scam videos promising guaranteed returns on investments or giveaways.
In the altered video, Mr Lee is seen being interviewed by a presenter from Chinese news network CGTN. They discussed an investment opportunity purportedly approved by the Singapore government, referring to it as a "revolutionary investment platform designed by Elon Musk".
The video ended with the presenter urging viewers to click on a link to register for the platform to earn "passive income".
The deepfake video appeared to have been manipulated from CGTN's actual interview with Mr Lee in Singapore in March 2023.
Deepfakes are created using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to alter or manipulate visual and audio content.
The quality of deepfake videos tends to suffer and become blurry as a result of attempts to hide manipulation. Viewers can look out for visual and audio anomalies in the form of atypical facial movements or blinking patterns and noticeable edits around the face.
