Scam Prevention

News Summary: Singapore & Hong Kong Police Recover S$670K in Deepfake Scam.

  • Admin
  • 10 April 2025
News Summary: Singapore & Hong Kong Police Recover S$670K in Deepfake Scam.

Summary: Singapore and Hong Kong police recover over S$670,000 in Deepfake Impersonation Scam

 

The Singapore Police Force issued a scam advisory on the recovery of over S$670,000 from a local impersonation scam. The local police worked with the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF)’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) to trace and recover the money lost in this business-related impersonation scam involving digital manipulation. This joint operation showcases the power of international cooperation in combating cross-border scams. 

 

How The Impersonation Scam Happened 

 

On 24 March 2025, the victim, a finance director for a multinational company, was contacted on WhatsApp by a scammer impersonating the company’s chief financial officer (CFO).

The director was told to participate in an online video conference to discuss the supposed restructuring of the firm’s regional business. He also received a call from a scammer impersonating a lawyer for the project’s need for confidentiality and was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). 

 

However, on 25 March 2025, the victim was told that the meeting was rescheduled to the current day. He joined the Zoom meeting with whom he thought was the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), among others. They were all impersonated with deepfake technology. 

 

Through this meeting, the victim was instructed to perform a transaction of USD499,000 from the company’s HSBC bank account to another local corporate bank. This was completed on 26 March 2025. Unbeknownst to the victim, this local corporate bank was a money mule account. The funds were subsequently transferred to different Hong Kong bank accounts. The victim only became aware of the scam on 27 March 2025 when the scammers requested an additional USD 1.4 million. He alerted HSBC, which notified the Anti-Scam Command (ASC) of the Singapore Police Force.

 

How Police Recovered Lost Funds 

 

The ASC acted quickly with the information provided by HSBC. The ASC quickly established the location of the lost funds and sought the assistance of the ADCC to recover them. On 28 March 2025, the ADCC managed to recover the full amount transferred to those accounts. The ASC also helped to seize the remaining amount of USD 5,000 that was still in the local money mule account. 



Importance Of International Cooperation And Public-Private Partnerships (H2)

 

This incident highlights the importance of international cooperation and public-private partnerships in fighting scams. On 21 October 2024, the anti-scam organisation FRONTIER+ was set up. The organisation comprised representatives from anti-scam centres of 7 different countries: Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, Thailand, the Republic of Maldives, the Republic of Korea and Australia. They aim to help coordinate international scam efforts to combat the growing threat of scams around the globe. Public-private partnerships should not be underestimated as well, as businesses have to be cooperative for anti-scam efforts to be effective. All these will assist in cross-border scam operations and the recovery of illegally transferred money. 



How To Stay Safe From Business-Related Impersonation Scams

 

The SPF has issued an advisory for how to stay safe from business-related impersonation scams. Here’s how:

 

  1. Establish Protocols

 

Establish protocols for employees to verify the authenticity of any online video conferences or messages, especially those with senior executives or key stakeholders. 

 

  1. Be Vigilant

Be mindful of any sudden or urgent requests to transfer funds. Verify the authenticity of such instructions with relevant departments or with the person directly through established communication channels. Stay vigilant for unsolicited video calls or messages, even if they appear to come from known business contacts. 

 

  1. Protect Sensitive Information

 

Never disclose personal or confidential information to anyone, especially unknown persons. Never transfer any funds as well to those persons. Verify the source before carrying out instructions. 

 

  1. Report the Scam

If you suspect that the company has fallen victim to a scam, call the related bank immediately to report and block fraudulent transactions. Make a police report as well. Lastly, report the scam to Scam.SG. It will help others learn from your experience to stay safe. 



If in doubt, call the 24/7 ScamShield hotline at 1799 to check. For more information on scams, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or read up on the variety of articles at Scam.SG. 




Impersonation Scams 

 

Impersonation scams in Singapore are fraudulent schemes that pretend to be someone you trust to trick you into giving away money or personal information. This can be bank staff, governmental officers, tech support agents or even a friend or family member. The umbrella of impersonation scams in Singapore can contain fake friend call scams, social media impersonation scams and government official impersonation scams. 

 

To reference the article above, impersonation scams can also happen to companies when scammers impersonate senior executives. Victims might be tricked into giving sensitive information or transferring funds to the scammers if they are not vigilant. It is important to be careful and take the necessary checks to not fall prey to such scams. 

 

According to the 2024 Annual Scams and Cybercrime Brief by the SPF, impersonation scams in total amounted to one of the biggest scam types in Singapore. In total, the umbrella of impersonation scams lost a minimum of S$191.3 million in 2024 alone. 

 

Learn how to stay safe from impersonation scams in Singapore with Scam.SG. Read up on the articles available on impersonation scams.





Phishing Scams 

 

Phishing scams in Singapore are a type of fraudulent scheme that tricks victims into sharing sensitive information such as passwords or bank information. Scammers often do this by disguising themselves as legitimate sources, such as governmental bodies or large banks. 

 

Common variants of phishing fraud in Singapore include:

  1. Smishing (SMS Phishing): Fake texts that impersonate governmental bodies or banks

  2. Email Phishing: Fake emails that impersonate governmental bodies or banks

  3. Vishing (Video Phishing): Scammers may take video calls while impersonating police officers or bank officials. 

  4. Spoofed Websites: As seen above, scammers mimic legitimate websites to phish for sensitive information.

  5. Business Email Compromise (BEC): Scammers impersonate company executives or vendors to steal company funds or information. 

 

According to the 2024 Annual Scams and Cybercrime Brief by the SPF, phishing scams were the third-highest number of reported scam cases in Singapore. There were 8,552 phishing cases reported and losses of more than S$59.4 million. 

 

The case above is similar to the Business Email Compromise (BEC) phishing scam. Although the main platform of BEC scams is through email, scammers are getting smarter. Fraudsters can make use of AI to deepfake senior executives, allowing this scam to be carried out through video as well. This makes this scam much harder to spot, and thus, employees have to be even more vigilant when it comes to avoiding these scams. 

 

Read more on phishing scams and what to do if you give your personal information to a phishing scam. Learn warning signs and how to recognise them to stay safe. Stay safe from phishing scams with Scam.SG.