Beware of fake Defence Minister accounts on Facebook: Mindef

The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) has cautioned the public against impersonators mimicking Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen on social media.

In a Facebook post on Feb 14, the ministry said it was alerted to several fake Facebook accounts pretending to be the minister's.

The official Facebook account for Dr Ng, 66, has a verified blue checkmark, said Mindef, adding that members of the public should be vigilant when approached by suspicious Facebook accounts.

In an example that Mindef showed, the fake account had numbers in its username - @politician.eng.hen.39324. In contrast, the legitimate account's username is @ngenghen.

The description of the fake account was almost a direct copy of Dr Ng's legitimate Facebook account, although instead of stating "grassroots advisor", it said "grassroots advisories".

The fake account could no longer be found on Facebook when The Straits Times tried searching for it.

Such accounts should be reported to the social media platform through its "Report" function, and personal information should not be disclosed to suspicious-looking profiles, the ministry added.

In recent times, other ministers in Singapore have also had fake Facebook profiles purporting to be them, including Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat in October 2024.

Other political figures who have also had fake accounts impersonating them include Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, Senior Minister of State for Manpower and Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development Sun Xueling and Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Saktiandi Supaat.