QuickCheck: Are scammers impersonating Bursa Malaysia's CEO to sell books?

RECENTLY, there has been a spate of ads on Facebook for books on stock-trading seemingly endorsed by Bursa Malaysia Berhad's chief executive officer Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift.

Seeing that it is highly unlikely that Bursa's CEO would be hawking books on Facebook, is it true that scammers have set up a phoney page misusing Muhamad Umar's likeness?

Verdict:

TRUE

According to a post on Bursa Malaysia's website, scammers are impersonating their representatives to lure victims into fake investment schemes.

It warned investors not to be fooled by such scams and to always check the Securities Commission Investor Alert List at http://sc.com.my/investor-alert before investing.

It urged investors to report any such ads to their help centre, Bursa2U, at [e-mail] or to call their hotline at [phone].

Checks by The Star found several offending ads using the likeness of Muhammad Umar, including a Facebook page which used his name and likeness but listed him as a game publisher.

References: