Singapore, Hong Kong Police Recover S$670,000 Lost in Business Impersonation Scam Using Deepfake

The Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) Anti-Scam Centre (ASC), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force’s (HKPF) Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC), has successfully traced and withheld more than USD 499,000 (around S$670,000) lost in a sophisticated business impersonation scam involving a deepfake. 

The victim, a finance director at a multinational corporation, was contacted via WhatsApp on 24 March 2025 by a scammer posing as the company’s chief financial officer. He was invited to a video conference regarding a supposed restructuring of the firm's regional business and instructed to link up with an executive partner at a law firm. Later, the victim received a call from the alleged lawyer, who emphasized the project’s importance and urged confidentiality, leading him to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

On 25 March, the victim was informed that the video conference was rescheduled for that same day. He joined the Zoom call, where the company’s chief executive officer and other executives were impersonated using deepfake technology. Following this meeting and further correspondence with the fake lawyer, he was directed to transfer over USD 499,000 from the company’s HSBC account to another local corporate bank account, which he did on 26 March.

Unbeknownst to the victim, the recipient account was a money mule account controlled by scammers. More than USD 494,000 was transferred to bank accounts in Hong Kong. The scam was only uncovered on 27 March, when the fraudster requested an additional USD 1.4 million (S$1.88 million). The victim immediately alerted HSBC, which notified the ASC.

Acting on HSBC’s intelligence, the ASC identified the destination of the scam proceeds and engaged ADCC for assistance. On 28 March 2025, the ADCC successfully withheld the full sum transferred to the Hong Kong bank accounts. The ASC also seized an additional USD 5,000 (S$7,000) remaining in the local mule account.

Authorities are continuing their investigations into the case.

The Singapore Police advise businesses to adopt the following precautionary measures: 

• Establish protocols for employees to verify the authenticity of any video calls or messages, particularly those purportedly from senior executives or key stakeholders. Train employees to be vigilant about unsolicited video calls or messages, even if they appear to come from known business contacts;
• Be mindful of any sudden or urgent fund transfer instructions and verify the authenticity of the instructions with the relevant departments or personnels directly through established communication channels;
• Never disclose confidential or personal information or send money to any unknown persons; 
• If you suspect that your company has fallen victim to a scam, call the associated bank immediately to report and block any fraudulent transactions as well as make a police report.