HK lawmakers receive scam emails featuring AI-generated naked visuals

Several lawmakers have recently received identical scam emails featuring a manipulated video, which uses AI to superimpose their faces onto screenshots of a bed scene with a nude woman.

Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Bill Tang posted on his Facebook page last Sunday (24 November) that he received a suspected scam email titled "You have committed a serious violation," which included his name. 

The email, mixing traditional and simplified Chinese characters, claimed to be from a private investigator hired to conduct long-term investigation on him. The sender expressed concern about the client's extreme intentions, stating they "wanted to kill you," and chose to privately email the lawmaker, urging him to spend money to resolve the issue. The email also included relevant videos.

“It is understood that many people have previously received identical emails, and the police are currently following up on the matter,” Tang’s post reads.

“The scammers are too lazy; they're just copying and pasting to deceive people!” he added. 

Meanwhile, Tang told local media HK01 that he was unable to open the video. The Security Bureau has received reports from multiple lawmakers and is currently handling the matter, according to the report. 

One of the manipulated videos sent by the scammers appears to use AI to superimpose the lawmakers' faces onto a scene with a nude woman in bed, featuring the Chinese OTT platform iQIYI’s logo in the upper left corner, according to HK01. Other lawmakers who received similar videos also depicted the same nude women, but the male figure's face was swapped with that of a different lawmaker.

Another lawmaker, Kitson Yang, also reported receiving the email but was unable to open the attachments, according to Sing Tao Headline. He said that he did not interact with the scammers, but given the email's nature—not just a scam but also a threat—he is worried that other lawmakers might be victimised. He added that LegCo members becoming targets for scammers, underscores the widespread nature of such scams.

While some lawmakers received the email over six months ago, more lawmakers have begun to receive it in the last few days, according to the report.

A spokesperson from the Hong Kong Police Force told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the case has been referred to the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau for follow-up investigation, and no arrests have been made yet.

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