The Singapore Police Force issued a warning on 30 April alerting the public to advertisements of fake online articles that portray Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong endorsing cryptocurrency investments.
One of the false articles was entitled “SPECIAL REPORT: Lee Hsien Loong’s Latest Investment Has the Government And Big Banks Terrified”.
The police said in their advisory that these articles are usually paid online advertisements that are disguised as legitimate news articles.
The fake articles portray the investments as being safe and lucrative, and when users click on the clickbait headlines, they will be redirected to a different website offering investments in cryptocurrencies.
Users who provide their contact details on the site will then receive calls from people who claim that they are representatives.
The police reminded the public not to engage with companies using these kinds of misleading and fake advertisements, as well as being cautious when making decisions pertaining to investments.
Image source: A snippet of the fake news advertisement from the Singapore Police Force via Zao Bao.