Victim loses at least $4.9m in scam involving deepfakes of PM Wong, government officials
2026-05-14
The Straits Times
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A Singapore businessman lost at least S$4.9 million after scammers used deepfake AI technology to impersonate senior government officials, including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in a Zoom call. The AI-generated impersonations convinced the victim to transfer funds, highlighting the risks of AI-enabled fraud.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event involves the use of an AI system (deepfake technology) to create realistic impersonations of government officials, which directly led to significant financial harm to the victim. The AI system's use in the scam is central to the incident, fulfilling the criteria for an AI Incident as it caused harm to a person (financial loss) through malicious use of AI-generated content.[AI generated]