DPM Heng warns public about fake Facebook profiles impersonating him
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DPM Heng Swee Keat recently noticed a few fake Facebook profiles purporting to be him.
PHOTO: HENG SWEE KEAT/FACEBOOK
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SINGAPORE - Is that really Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat sending you a friend request on Facebook?
Even if you know him personally, you’d better think twice before responding.
In a Facebook post on Oct 30, he said he had recently noticed a few fake Facebook profiles purporting to be him, and warned members of the public against responding to their friend requests, following them as well as giving them personal information.
“This scammer went as far as to add friends as well as send friend requests to those in my network,” he said.
“Please do not be fooled by these impersonation accounts!”
DPM Heng pointed out that his official Facebook and Instagram accounts have a blue checkmark, indicating that these are verified accounts. His handle is @hengsweekeat, with no spaces or numbers.
People who come across fake accounts can immediately report them on the platform, he added, thanking those who alerted him about such accounts.
In June, DPM Heng warned of a phishing e-mail scam that uses his name,
Other prominent figures in Singapore have also had fake accounts impersonating them, including Health Minister Ong Ye Kung,
Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong have also had their likeness used in deepfake scams, while an advertisement that uses the name and image of Leader of the Opposition and Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh
According to police statistics, there were 26,587 scam cases in the first half of 2024,
More than $2.7 billion has been lost to scams since 2019, with victims losing a record high of more than $385.6 million in the first half of 2024.
More information on the latest scams can be found at
Members of the public can report scams via the ScamShield Bot on WhatsApp at go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot
