The scam typically comes to light when victims either lose contact with the scammers or, upon verifying the legitimacy of the requests with their actual company executives or legal departments, discover that no such video calls or transactions were authorised
Singapore’s law enforcement and cybersecurity agencies have issued a warning about a sophisticated scam involving deepfake technology, where fraudsters impersonate senior executives during video calls to deceive employees into transferring large sums of money.
In a joint advisory, the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) revealed that victims have been receiving unsolicited WhatsApp messages from scammers posing as high-ranking executives from the companies the victims work for. These messages typically invite the victims to join live-streamed Zoom video calls.
“It is believed that digital manipulation had been used to alter the appearances of the scammers to impersonate these high-ranking executives,” the authorities stated. “In some cases, the video calls would also involve scammers impersonating MAS officials and/or potential ‘investors’.”
During these calls, victims are instructed to make significant fund transfers from their company’s corporate bank accounts to accounts controlled by the scammers. The fraudsters justify the payments by citing business-related reasons, such as project financing or investments. In certain cases, the victims were also asked to share sensitive personal details, including their NRIC or passport information.
The scam typically comes to light when victims either lose contact with the scammers or, upon verifying the legitimacy of the requests with their actual company executives or legal departments, discover that no such video calls or transactions were authorised.
Authorities are urging businesses to establish clear verification protocols, especially for requests involving financial transactions or personal information made over digital platforms. Employees should be trained to verify the authenticity of video calls and messages, particularly those appearing to come from senior leaders or important stakeholders. Companies are also advised to remain vigilant for signs of audio or visual manipulation that could indicate the use of artificial intelligence technologies.
The warning highlights the growing sophistication of scams leveraging emerging technologies like deepfakes, and the importance of adopting robust cybersecurity measures to protect organisations from such threats.
