Man loses S$4.9 million in Strait of Hormuz funding assistance scam involving impersonation of PM Wong, Cabinet secretary
Man loses S$4.9 million in Strait of Hormuz funding assistance scam involving impersonation of PM Wong, Cabinet secretary
The police revealed this as they advised members of the public to be vigilant against scams involving the impersonation of senior government officials.
A map of the Strait of Hormuz is seen on Apr 15, 2026. (File photo: Reuters/Dado Ruvic)
SINGAPORE: A man has lost at least S$4.9 million (US$3.8 million) to a Strait of Hormuz funding assistance scam, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Thursday (May 14), as it advised members of the public to be vigilant against scams involving the impersonation of senior government officials.
In a news release, police said the scammers who appear to be targeting business professionals who have had prior interactions with government officials would impersonate government officials, including the secretary to the Cabinet, to inform the victim to attend a virtual meeting with the Singapore president, ministers, and other 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.
Police said that in one instance, a victim received a WhatsApp message from a profile with Secretary to the Cabinet Wong Hong Kuan's photo, informing him to attend a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
The victim also received an email purportedly sent by the secretary to the Cabinet requesting urgent funding assistance relating to the situation in the Strait 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," said police.
The victim was asked to sign an NDA, and after he did, he was subsequently invited to a Zoom video conference that appeared to involve Mr Wong, as well as other local and overseas government officials.
"In reality, the participants had been fabricated using deepfake (artificial intelligence) technology," police said.
After the meeting, the victim was contacted via WhatsApp, and he transferred at least S$4.9 million through a series of transactions to a corporate bank account supplied by the scammers.
The victim, after feeling that something was amiss, later contacted the secretary to the Cabinet on Thursday, at which point he realised that he had been scammed.
In relation to earlier cases using the same modus operandi, three individuals were arrested and charged on May 9 for their suspected involvement in SIM card offences, police added.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Mr Wong said: "I have been alerted that some people have received fake messages from someone impersonating the Cabinet Secretary and arranging meetings on my behalf.
"These messages are scams. Please exercise caution if you receive unsolicited messages of this nature."
"If you are unsure whether a message is legitimate, verify it through official channels before responding or sharing any personal information," added Mr Wong.
Police reminded members of the public to never transfer money or provide their identification card details to any unknown people or individuals whose identities they have not verified.
They added that Singapore government officials will never request over the phone for people to transfer money, disclose bank login details or install mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer their calls to the police or any other government officials.
The police advised the public to take precautionary measures against scams, such as installing the ScamShield mobile app and checking the legitimacy of suspicious messages and calls via the ScamShield app, website or helpline.
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