# AI-generated video of Singapore PM Lawrence Wong used in $3.8M fraud > Source: > Published: 2026-08-23 08:21:00+00:00 Via scmp.com # AI-generated video of Singapore PM Lawrence Wong used in $3.8M fraud Scammers used deepfake technology to impersonate Singapore's prime minister and other top officials in a fabricated Zoom call that cost one victim nearly $4 million A business professional in Singapore lost at least S$4.9 million, roughly $3.8 million, after scammers used AI-generated deepfake video to impersonate Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and several other senior government officials on a fake Zoom call. ## How the scam unfolded The operation started with a WhatsApp message. The sender used a profile photo of Cabinet Secretary Wong Hong Kuan, establishing a veneer of government legitimacy from the first point of contact. From there, the victim received a fake email, sent via Proton, claiming to request urgent funding assistance tied to a purported critical situation in the Strait of Hormuz. The email came with a forged government letter of guarantee, designed to make the ask look official. Before the video call, the victim was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. That’s a clever psychological move: it framed the entire interaction as classified, discouraging the victim from seeking outside advice or verification. Then came the main event. The victim joined a Zoom meeting populated by AI-generated likenesses of PM Lawrence Wong, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister Indranee Rajah, and other recognizable Singaporean officials. Multiple transactions were subsequently sent to a corporate bank account set up by the scammers. Singapore Police Force released footage of the compromised call on May 16, 2026, breaking down the deepfake elements for the public. The footage revealed noticeable technical flaws, including mismatched lip movements and audio inconsistencies. ## The deepfake trail A subsequent investigation by CNA traced the deepfake material back to real footage from 2022. The scammers had apparently manipulated or stitched together clips from different legitimate sources to construct their AI-generated versions of Singapore’s leaders. This incident is not an isolated case in Singapore. Deepfake threats targeting Singaporean leaders have been documented since 2023, forming a pattern of increasingly sophisticated attempts to exploit public trust in government figures. ## What this means for digital trust Singapore authorities have since issued heightened public advisories urging citizens to verify any unusual requests from official sources through independent channels. For corporations, particularly those in financial services, this case serves as a stress test for existing due diligence processes. Traditional know-your-customer and identity verification methods were not designed to handle AI-generated impersonation at this fidelity. The corporate bank account used to receive the stolen funds points to another vulnerability: the ease with which shell entities can be established to funnel illicit proceeds. **Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our [Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).