SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took to social media late on Saturday night (July 22) to warn the public about the emergence—again—of scams that use his image to run crypto scams and fake ads.
In a Facebook post, he noted that this has occurred when there has been a lot of media coverage after a major speech or announcement, as scammers take advantage of this type of situation.
“If the ad uses my image to sell you a product, asks you to invest in some scheme, or even uses my voice to tell you to send money, it’s not me,” he warned.
He was notified about this by alert Singaporeans who told him about the re-emergence of these ads in the last few days.
PM Lee thanked them for taking the time to write to him.
He also encountered these scams or fake ads while scrolling online but has since reported them to relevant teams.
“If you come across scams, fake news or ads, like the screenshot you see here, please do not respond to them! You can report them via the official ScamShield Bot on WhatsApp at https://go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot.
If you have fallen victim to an online scam, you can lodge an online police report at go.gov.sg/police-report.
Let us do our part by staying vigilant against scams,” he wrote.
PM Lee posted a photo of one example of this type of scam, headlined, “SPECIAL REPORT: Lee Hsien Loong’s Latest Investment Has The Government and Big Banks Terrified.”
The screenshot appeared on a website that attempted to make it look like it was published on the news website CNA.
The image of several others in his cabinet has also been used in similar scams.
Last year, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung also took to Facebook when doctored photos of himself were spread online to endorse medical products. /TISG
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