{
  "id": 2760512,
  "title": "Real clips, fake voices: How scammers used real footage of PM Wong and other political figure to build a S$4.9m scam",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/real-clips-fake-voices-how-scammers-used-real-footage-of-pm-wong-and",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-23T09:01:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/singapore/2026/08/23/how-scammers-used-real-footage-of-pm-wong-and-world-leaders-to-build-a-s49m-scam/232423"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A scam that involved a fake Zoom meeting led to a victim transferring at least S$4.9 million (RM19.79 million), according to Singapore police. The scammers used real footage of Singaporean and international political figures in the recording, rather than creating the participants from scratch, CNA reported after analyzing the full recording provided by the Singapore Police Force. The footage included Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's announcement of Covid-19 measures easing in April 2022, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah in a Money FM 89.3 interview from March 2023, and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam's appearance in a virtual panel in November 2020. Some of the source material had low view counts, making it harder for victims to recognize its origins. The scammers generally kept the genuine video and replaced the original audio with manipulated speech, while some media watermarks on clips were concealed by a \"Live Zoom Recording\" graphic. One exception involved Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, whose audio from a March 25 virtual press conference on safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz was used without changes, as it fit the scam's premise. Associate Professor Reuben Ng from NUS suggested that placing the authentic segment near the start of the call could build trust and make later inconsistencies seem like normal connection or compression issues. Police identified warning signs in the recording, such as audio not synchronizing with participants' lip movements, and have stressed that government officials never ask the public to transfer money through emails, phone calls, or video chats.",
  "summary": "SINGAPORE, Aug 23 — Scammers behind a fake Zoom meeting that led a victim to transfer at least S$4.9 million (RM19...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}