Singapore:

Singapore’s Indian-born Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and several MPs received extortion letters containing fake photos of themselves in obscene situations.

Balakrishnan said in a Facebook post that several other MPs and himself had received letters containing “false and disgusting images with threats”.

“This behavior is deplorable and completely contrary to the values ​​and good practices we try to instil in society. We have reported the incident to the police and will take appropriate legal action,” he said.

Police said late Friday night that the letters, which were sent by post to the victim’s workplace, contained photos of the victim’s face superimposed on obscene photos of a man and a woman allegedly in “intimate and compromising positions.” “.

Police have received more than 70 reports of such extortion letters since March, Channel NewsAsia reported on Saturday.

The letters warned of “threatening consequences” unless they contacted the email address provided.

Police said if victims contacted the email address they would be asked to transfer money to prevent their “compromising photos and videos” from being leaked and exposed on social media.

“In this age of fakery and scams, we must take a strong collective stand against this kind of behavior,” Balakrishnan said. “There is a disgusting photo inside,” he wrote on Facebook on Saturday. , one of the characters had my face digitally altered, accompanied by a blackmail demand.”

He said that while it is not uncommon for public figures to face blackmail scams, the rise of “deep fakes” has made it “more difficult to distinguish reality from fiction.”

“With off-the-shelf tools, anyone can create deepfake content in minutes,” he added.

“This could pose a significant threat to the fabric of our society. If left unchecked, this could impact our public standing and the people we love. We must come together as a community to combat these frauds,” he wrote.

Police advise members of the public who receive such letters to ignore any instructions to initiate contact or transfer money.

They are also asked to report the incident to police immediately and hand the letter to police in a separate storage bag.

The investigation is ongoing, the channel reported.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)