Singapore Prime Minister Warns Against Crypto Deepfake Scams
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned residents on Friday not to engage with crypto deepfake videos circulating online. The deepfake video depicts him promoting cryptocurrency scams with guaranteed returns.
Sophisticated AI technology is enabling fraudsters to create convincing bogus footage, Lee cautioned in his recent Facebook post.
Key Details:
- Fraudsters are producing deepfake videos showing Lee and others endorsing fake crypto “investment platforms.”
- The technology mimics their voices and images to create credible scams out of real footage, Lee said.
- He advised the public to avoid interacting with such videos and report them via official government channels.
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AI Creates Alarmingly Realistic Scams
One video targeting Singapore depicts Lee in an apparently real interview discussing a “transformative investment platform envisioned by Elon Musk” in a staged segment titled “Leaders Talk.”
The technology convincingly grafts the prime minister’s likeness onto a presenter in a news-style format. His facial expressions and voice mirror real footage to lend credibility.
“The use of deepfake technology to spread disinformation will continue to grow,” Lee wrote. “We must remain vigilant and learn to protect ourselves and our loved ones against such scams.”
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Lee has repeatedly posted warnings about AI-enabled fraudsters capitalizing on periods of intensive media coverage of him to run fake crypto ads.
While the Singapore prime minister incident marks a high-profile case, AI-powered fake celebrity crypto scam videos are increasingly spreading through social channels like Twitter and YouTube. Lee said in his warning that Singaporeans must vigilantly self-educate on deepfakes to avoid falling victim themselves as the scams scale up.
A deepfake video of Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been circulating on YouTube. Platforms like YouTube have failed to identify and remove such videos. At press time, the deepfake video of Gralinghouse is still live and has over 44k views.
