The world has seen a massive rise in cybercrime after the rapid development of technology and with that the internet. In today’s time, it has become very easy to run a scam on the internet and the latest victim of such an activity was Madam Ho Ching, the Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of Temasek Holdings.
Recent reports showed that fake portals were issuing articles on their website that stated how Ho Ching made a lot of money using ‘financial loopholes’.
Ho Ching is also the wife of the current Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong. Her connection to the political leader is also seen as a reason for this defamation. The Monetary Authority of Singapore warned that websites were posing as legitimate portals to publish fake news.
One website posed as The Strait Times and published a piece that claimed: “Ching’s latest investment has experts in awe and big banks terrified”. While there was no mention of any backing for the statement, the article continued to shed light on the fake news. The piece also added that Singaporean citizens were ranking in millions of dollars sitting at home because of the same wealth loophole.
The usage of Mdm Ching’s photo has also drawn her comments, blasting the portals for it. She stated that such practices were wrong and that people should not fall for it as she would never endorse such efforts. Her Facebook post back in November said:
“These fake articles talk about fantastical ways of making money from bitcoins and such like, and pretend there are loopholes for multiplying your money quickly.They sometimes use old pictures of me, and other fake news would use newer pictures of me, photoshopped in front various banks.Pls report to Facebook, WhatsApp, or whichever social media channel you have been seeing this.More importantly, don’t get scammed or conned into investing into this or that get rich schemes.”
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has been very serious when it comes to such malpractices because of its efforts to promote digital money. The body is also responsible for bringing in technological changes as blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies into the country.
This was not the first time that Singapore was hit with such a scam as other politicians had also been affected earlier. Last year, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies Tharman Shanmugaratnam was also hit by such a scandal. He also serves as the Chairman of the Monetary Authority of MAS.
Source:CNA