SINGAPORE: Progress Singapore Party Tan Cheng Bock issued a warning on his Facebook page on Tuesday morning (July 9), saying that his face had been used in an advertisement on a page on the platform.
“My image has been used by this Facebook page to look like I am advertising an investment opportunity. PLEASE DO NOT CLICK ON IT. I have not and will not ever ask you to invest in a any financial scheme,” wrote Dr Tan.
He added that he would be reporting the ad to Facebook for it to be taken down, but appealed to the public to report to the authorities if they see such advertisements, many of which are designed to scam people out of their money.
Dr Tan wrote that people may report scams through the official ScamShield Bot on Whatsapp at https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot.
He posted a screenshot of the ad, posted by “Antonia10” on July 1 and captioned in Chinese. It showed Dr Tan in a Progress Singapore Party uniform shirt with red and white stripes pointing his finger.
The original picture was part of an article in the Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao over four years ago, on July 7, 2020.
Published during that year’s General Election campaign, the piece was titled “Tan Cheng Bock continues to criticize the country for how to get out of the COVID-19 crisis and invites two ministers to debate the anti-epidemic plan.”
Many of Dr Tan’s followers have shared his post, and others said they would also report the ad to Facebook.
“The scammers cannot be any stupider than that. Why would Dr Tan do this kind of investment stuff, which is a waste of time for someone with his status?
If there is anybody who believes in the ad, I really dunno what to say about them. I really hope nobody falls into it,” wrote one commenter.
“There are many such scams on FB that include other public figures and well-known people too. Better to exercise some care and cautiousness. Don’t understand why it’s FB not banning such commercials,” wrote another.
Dr Tan is not the first political figure to be used in fake advertisements online, and he is likely to be the last.
In June, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned the public after a fake Facebook post showing him advertising an investment product was spread online.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s image has also been used in fake ads in the past, as have those of Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, Senior Ministers of State Dr Janil Puthucheary and Tan Kiat, and others.
/TISG