Fake advertisements using Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s name and image to promote crypto scams, among others, have been seen circulating recently on the internet, PM Lee said on Saturday night on Facebook.
He said that such ads have re-emerged in the past few days, and have a tendency to surface after a major announcement or speech that carries a lot of media coverage. He added that if the ad uses his image to ask you to invest in some scheme or sell you a product, even using his voice to tell you to send money, it is not him. PM Lee said he had seen some of these fake ads while surfing the Internet and had also been informed about them by Singaporeans who wrote to him.
He attached a screenshot in his post showing a fake CAN report using his photo in the article, titled SPECIAL REPORT : Lee Hsien Loong’s Latest Investment Has The Government And Big Banks Terrified. https://static1.straitstimes.com.sg/s3fs-public/styles/large30x20/public/articles/2023/07/23/pmleescam.jpg?itok=uu7ZKyse
In his post, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong attached a screenshot showing a fake CNA report. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/PM LEE
PM Lee urged the public to report them via the official ScamShield Bot on WhatsApp, and not respond to fake news, ads, or scams similar to the screenshot he shared, adding that those who have been scanned could lodge an online police report.
This is not the first time that PM Lee’s identity has been used by scammers in their schemes. Scammers sent fake e-mails in his name in October 2022, to target personalities such as government leaders, in various scams. In one instance, scammers had created an email to look like it was sent from the Prime Minister’s Office, and its contents thanked the recipients for their contributions to Singapore. The public was warned in June 2022, by the police against fake online articles purportedly showing PM Lee endorsing cryptocurrency auto trading programmes. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong had been similarly targeted by scammers while being falsely linked to products online.
