A man is sounding the alarm on a potential investment scam that involves a spoof of The Straits Times\u2019 (ST) website after planning to invest \u201ca few thousand\u201d dollars.<\/p>\n
On May 5, Stomper David <\/strong>came across what he believed was an ST article on his Google feed. The article appeared to be about the a fight at Chin Swee Road last November, in which two men were charged for the murder of a 56-year-old man<\/a>.<\/p>\n David found the story \u201centicing\u201d \u2014 but not for the reasons one might think.<\/p>\n \u201cThe article came with a link that connects you to an investment platform page,\u201d David said, showing screenshots of the \u201carticle\u201d that contained hyperlinks to Moventix Trading, an investment platform.<\/p>\n The spoofed article also quoted the suspect and other stakeholders talking about the benefits of Moventix Trading. While the article claimed the platform was approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Stomp could not find the platform on MAS\u2019 online directory<\/a>.<\/p>\n There was no result found for \u201cMoventix Trading\u201d on the MAS website.<\/p>\n PHOTO: STOMP<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n When asked if he found it suspicious that a news article about a murder case would contain links to an investment platform, David grew sheepish.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you read the article, you may be enticed to give it a try. Who would not want to earn $100,000 from $1,000?\u201d<\/p>\n He clicked on one of the hyperlinks and was instructed to provide his phone number so that the trading platform could contact him. Within 10 minutes, someone who claimed to be a manager at the company called him.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually paid US$250 (S$316.85),\u201d the Stomper admitted.<\/p>\n Although he was convinced, David decided to verify the article\u2019s authenticity on ST\u2019s website. “To my disbelief, the story on the murder was true, \u201c the Stomper said. However, he soon realised there were no mentions of trading or investments on the original ST article.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it seems the scammer has used the original story and cooked up another story regarding the investment platform,\u201d David said.<\/p>\n The Stomper confirmed that he is now disputing the transactions with his bank and has reported the phone number \u2013 that the \u201cmanager\u201d called him from \u2013 to ScamShield, the government\u2019s scam prevention tool.<\/p>\n Upon reflection, David felt the scammers \u201ccleverly centred\u201d on the \u201cinvestment fallout between friends\u201d that led to the Chin Swee Road murder.<\/p>\n David said the article felt convincing due to its mentions of artificial intelligence, among other reasons.<\/p>\n PHOTO: STOMP<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I gave it a try although I intended to invest only a few thousand dollars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI must also add that the AI algorithms part of the story can be really convincing especially when we are at the evolution of this new technology,\u201d David added.<\/p>\n By sharing his experience with Stomp, he hopes to alert the public to this scam so that others will not fall prey to it.<\/p>\n Stomp has reached out to SPH Media and the trading company for comment.<\/p>\n Have something to say? Join in!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Explore more on these topics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n See something interesting? Contribute<\/a> your story to us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Scroll to continue reading<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>
<\/picture><\/div>
\n![\"Stomp](\"https:\/\/stomp.straitstimes.com\/assets\/stomp-comment-COLiWNMD.png\")
<\/p>\n