Singapore: Singapore's Indian-origin Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and several members of Parliament have received extortion letters containing fake photographs of them in obscene positions.
Balakrishnan said in a Facebook post that he and several other MPs had received letters containing "disgusting fake images along with threats".
“This conduct is condemnable and completely contrary to the values and good practices we are trying to inculcate in our society. We have filed a police report and will take appropriate legal action.”
Police said late on Friday that the letters sent by post to the victims' workplaces contained photographs of the victims' faces, superimposed over pornographic photographs of a man and a woman allegedly in "intimate and compromising positions".There have been more than 70 police reports about such extortion letters since March, Channel News Asia reported on Saturday.
The letters warned of "dangerous consequences" unless they contacted the given email address.
Police said that if victims contact the email address, they will be asked to transfer money to prevent their "compromising photographs and videos" from being leaked and exposed on social media.
Balakrishnan said: "In this era of deep fraud and scams, we must take a strong collective stand against such conduct."
"Inside was a distasteful photograph in which my face had been digitally manipulated, along with a demand for extortion," she wrote on Facebook on Saturday.,
He said that while it is not uncommon for public figures to face extortion scandals, the rise of "deepfakes" makes it "harder to discern reality from fiction."
“With readily available tools, anyone can create deepfake content in a matter of minutes,” he said.
“This could pose a significant threat to our social fabric. Unchecked, it can affect our public standing and those we love. We must unite as a community to combat these fraudulent acts,” he wrote.Police advised members of the public to ignore any instructions to initiate contact or make a transfer if they receive such letters.
They are also asked to report the matter to the police immediately and keep the letter in a separate storage bag to hand it over to the police.
According to the channel report, the investigation is ongoing.
Balakrishnan said in a Facebook post that he and several other MPs had received letters containing "disgusting fake images along with threats".
“This conduct is condemnable and completely contrary to the values and good practices we are trying to inculcate in our society. We have filed a police report and will take appropriate legal action.”
Police said late on Friday that the letters sent by post to the victims' workplaces contained photographs of the victims' faces, superimposed over pornographic photographs of a man and a woman allegedly in "intimate and compromising positions".There have been more than 70 police reports about such extortion letters since March, Channel News Asia reported on Saturday.
The letters warned of "dangerous consequences" unless they contacted the given email address.
Police said that if victims contact the email address, they will be asked to transfer money to prevent their "compromising photographs and videos" from being leaked and exposed on social media.
Balakrishnan said: "In this era of deep fraud and scams, we must take a strong collective stand against such conduct."
"Inside was a distasteful photograph in which my face had been digitally manipulated, along with a demand for extortion," she wrote on Facebook on Saturday.,
He said that while it is not uncommon for public figures to face extortion scandals, the rise of "deepfakes" makes it "harder to discern reality from fiction."
“With readily available tools, anyone can create deepfake content in a matter of minutes,” he said.
“This could pose a significant threat to our social fabric. Unchecked, it can affect our public standing and those we love. We must unite as a community to combat these fraudulent acts,” he wrote.Police advised members of the public to ignore any instructions to initiate contact or make a transfer if they receive such letters.
They are also asked to report the matter to the police immediately and keep the letter in a separate storage bag to hand it over to the police.
According to the channel report, the investigation is ongoing.
