Scammers told victim to attend Zoom call with PM Wong & asked for 'urgent funding' for Strait of Hormuz

Scammers appear to be targeting business professionals who have had prior interactions with Singapore government officials, the Singapore Police Force said in an advisory on May 14.

The police added that it was alerting members of the public to be vigilant against scams that involve the impersonation of senior government officials, including the Secretary to the Cabinet.

An alert was put out earlier on May 6, the police added.

Since then, more cases have emerged.

Scammers pretend to hold virtual meeting with ministers

In these cases, the scammers would impersonate senior government officials including the Secretary to the Cabinet and inform the victim to attend a virtual meeting with the president, ministers, and other government officials.

The victim would be requested to provide an email address to receive a “Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)” for the meeting.

The scammers would also inform the victim to endorse the NDA and furnish a copy of their identification cards.

Attend meeting with PM Wong

In one such case, the victim received a WhatsApp message with Mr Wong Hong Kuan’s profile photo, informing him to attend a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

He also received an email from [email protected], purportedly sent by the Secretary to the Cabinet, requesting urgent funding assistance relating to the situation at the Straits of Hormuz.

The email included what appeared to be an official government-issued letter of guarantee bearing PM Wong’s signature, stating that the funds would be reimbursed by the Singapore government within 15 business days.

The victim was also asked to sign an NDA, which he did.

Attended Zoom call

The victim was subsequently invited to a Zoom video conference that appeared to involve PM Wong, as well as other local and overseas government officials.

In reality, the participants had been fabricated using deepfake AI technology.

Following the meeting, the victim was contacted via WhatsApp and transferred at least S$4.9 million through a series of transactions to a corporate bank account supplied by the scammers.

The victim later felt that something was amiss and contacted the Secretary to the Cabinet on May 14, at which point he realised that he had fallen prey to a scam.

In relation to earlier cases using the same modus operandi, the police have arrested and charged three individuals on May 9 for their suspected involvement in SIM card offences.

The police said they would like to remind members of the public to never transfer money or provide identification card details to any unknown persons or persons whose identity you did not verify.

Additionally, Singapore government officials will never ask for money to be transferred, bank login details to be disclosed, mobile apps from unofficial app stores to be installed, as well as transfer calls to the police or other government officials.