Corporate figure Vincent Tan has lodged reports with the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) following an online scam that uses his name and image.
According to a report in The Star, the billionaire founder of Berjaya Corp Bhd has denied any involvement in or endorsement of a get-rich-quick investment scheme that claims to be able to turn anyone into a millionaire within three to four months.
“I urge the public to be extremely careful not to be victims of any investment scams, especially since many people have lost their jobs and savings recently due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ” said Tan (above) yesterday.
Calling it a scam, he added that he was determined to sue and seek compensation from any social media operators whose sites published any investment schemes falsely bearing his name or image.
“It has become too rampant that internet and social media platforms are used by criminals to prey on innocent investors, ” said Tan.
He added that scammers and fraudsters often misuse the images of prominent personalities such as political leaders, celebrities, and billionaires to dupe potential investors, and that it was shocking how easy it was for criminals to propagate their scams on these popular social media platforms.
A screenshot of the investment scam had been posted on popular social media site Instagram.
Tan previously had to deny an online report claiming he had invested US$250mil (RM1.09b) in a get-rich-quick scheme.
He also urged prominent social media operators to be more committed to protecting millions of social media users and prevent their sites from becoming a haven for investment scams.
Malaysiakini itself is a frequent target of fake sites and scammers who use our name and logo to carry out what appears to be credit card fraud.
The scam features purported interviews conducted by Malaysiakini with high-profile personalities such as AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, and tycoon Robert Kuok.
These fake interviews promote the use of a bitcoin service and include a purported review of the service by Malaysiakini.
Malaysiakini lodged a report with the MCMC over the matter in July last year.
Malaysiakini advises its readers to exercise caution when visiting websites claiming to be the news portal.
Always check if the website you are on is www.malaysiakini.com or our News Lab site pages.malaysiakini.com.
Readers can also take proactive action by reporting any advertisements that link to these scam sites. - Mkini
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