You will be able to recognise the common ways people are drawn into investment scams online.
You're scrolling on your lunch break and see what looks like a news article. A famous businessman, someone you'd recognise instantly, is quoted saying he's made a fortune with a new trading platform and wants ordinary Singaporeans to share in it. There's a photo of him on a TV set, a link to sign up, and hundreds of comments from people thanking him.
Almost none of it is real. In lesson 4.1 you saw how a fake platform keeps you depositing once you're on it. This lesson is about the routes that get people there in the first place: borrowed famous faces, chat groups full of fake winners, and friendly mentors who just want to help.
Scam ads and fake articles often feature well-known people: business leaders, celebrities, TV presenters, and sometimes senior politicians. The people in them usually have no idea their name is being used. Their photos are lifted from real interviews and events, and their quotes are edited or simply invented.
The formats vary. Some look like news stories from a real outlet, copied down to the logo and layout. Some are short videos with a recognisable face and a voice-over. Some are posts or ads on social media that link to a sign-up page. The comments underneath are often fake too, posted by accounts the scammers control.
Many of the people whose faces are used have publicly said that they don't endorse these schemes. That's worth knowing, because it gives you an easy check. A well-known person who really backed an investment would talk about it on their own official channels. If their verified accounts or official website say nothing, or say the ads are fake, you have your answer.
Some of these ads now use edited video or a cloned voice to make the person appear to speak. Deepfake and voice-clone scams are covered in depth in AI risks: privacy, bias, deepfakes and scams. The check here works the same whether the ad uses a still photo or a convincing video, because it doesn't depend on spotting the fake.
Another route starts with an invitation to a group chat on WhatsApp or Telegram. It might come from an ad, a stranger, or a contact who added you without asking. The group is presented as an exclusive club for investors, often led by a "professor", "analyst" or "teacher" who shares free tips.
Once you're in, the chat looks busy. Members post screenshots of big profits, thank the leader for their gains, and talk about how much they've made this week. Newcomers ask nervous questions and get reassuring answers.
Many of those members may be accounts run by the scammers themselves, there to create the impression that lots of ordinary people are getting rich. You can't tell from inside the chat, because every message you see was written to persuade you. The screenshots of profits come from fake platforms like the ones in lesson 4.1, so they prove nothing either.
The pressure in these groups is usually gentle and steady. There's talk of a special opportunity coming up, limited spaces in a "VIP" round, or a window that's about to close. That's the scarcity lever from lesson 1.1, used on a whole group at once.
The third route is the most personal. Someone offers to teach you. It might be the leader of an insider group, an assistant who messages you privately, or a new friend you met on social media or a dating app. They're patient and generous with their time, share their own trading results, and offer to show you their method.
Eventually the lessons lead to a specific place. You're asked to download a particular app, sign up on a particular website, or send cryptocurrency to a particular wallet. That app or website is part of the scheme. It's the fake platform from lesson 4.1, and the mentor is the scammer who will guide you through the deposits and, later, the excuses.
Here is an illustration. Rachel, a 30-year-old teacher, joins a Telegram group after clicking an ad. An "assistant" to the group's analyst messages her privately, asks about her goals and offers free coaching. After two weeks of chatting, he tells her the analyst's trades only work on one specific platform and walks her through downloading its app. Rachel checks the platform's name in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory using the steps from lesson 4.2, finds nothing, and leaves the group.
Celebrity ads, insider groups and mentors look very different, but they lead to the same place: an investment platform you've been steered to by someone you don't know. Each route works by borrowing trust, whether from a famous face, a crowd of happy members or a patient teacher.
So the defence doesn't need to be different for each one. You check the platform with MAS, as in lesson 4.2. You check any famous name against that person's own official channels. You treat any push to a specific app or wallet as a warning.
Celebrity ads are the easiest of the three to practise on, because they're everywhere and they're public. Next time you see one in your feed, you'll know exactly where to look to find out whether the person in it has ever said a word about it.
Find one investment ad using a well-known person, and check the person's official channels for any statement about fake endorsements.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).