The Police would like to alert members of the public to recent reported cases of extortionary mails. Between March and April 2024, the Police have received more than 70 reports where victims received extortionary letters via post containing manipulated photographs where the publicly sourced pictures of the victims’ faces would be superimposed on obscene photographs of a man and a woman purportedly in an intimate and compromising position. The letters warned of threatening consequences unless they contact the email address provided in the letters. In one of the reports, a 50-year-old victim suffered a loss of $20,000 after responding to the email address and transferred the money to a bank account allegedly provided by the other party.
Based on the current cases, the letters would be sent to the victims’ workplaces. If the victims contact the email address, they would be threatened to transfer money to prevent compromising photographs and videos from being leaked and exposed on social media. Based on preliminary investigations, the information e.g. photographs and workplace addresses appear to be obtained from publicly available online sources. Police investigations are ongoing.
Members of the public are advised to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- With advancements to photo and video editing technology, including the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered tools, manipulated photographs and videos may increasingly be used for extortion.
- If you receive a manipulated photograph or video, remain calm. Ignore any instructions to initiate contact or make money transfers. Doing so emboldens the other party to extort more money from you. Report the matter to the Police immediately and put the letter in a separate storage bag for handover to the Police.
- Never share provocative photos/videos of yourself online or through chat apps as they might fall into the wrong hands.
If you wish to provide any information related to such cases, please call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
19 April 2024 @ 10:50 PM