A FAMILIAR news logo can make a dubious story look far more convincing than it really is.
Star Media Group has issued repeated warnings this year about fake articles and websites using The Star's logo, name and website design. One case reported in July involved a fabricated article promoting an investment platform with supposed expert views, impressive returns, testimonials and fake reader comments.
It would be easy to see this mainly as a case of brand impersonation. But the scammers are copying more than the brand. They are also copying the way credible news looks and sounds.
That is important because most readers do not judge an article by its logo alone. We also respond to familiar features of journalism. A recognisable news format, a quotation from an expert, a statistic, a reference to an institution and a few comments from supposed readers can make a page feel legitimate.
Scammers understand this. A direct advertisement promising extraordinary investment returns is likely to make many people cautious. Put the same promise inside something that looks like a news report, and the effect can be very different.
An advertisement is clearly trying to sell. A news report appears to inform. That difference gives scammers room to work.
A fake article may introduce an investment opportunity through what appears to be a report about a public figure, a financial development or a new investment platform. It may include comments from supposed experts, references to regulators, figures showing impressive returns and testimonials from people claiming to have made money.
The page starts to look less like advertising and more like information that has already been checked by someone else.
This is why the problem goes beyond fake logos and copied website designs. Scammers are also borrowing the conventions people associate with journalism.
Real news reports identify sources, provide context, attribute claims and use quotations to show readers where information comes from. Those practices help build trust because there is supposed to be an editorial process behind them.
A scam site can copy the appearance of that process without doing any of the work.
A fabricated quotation still looks like a quotation.
A made-up expert can still sound knowledgeable.
A false statistic can still appear precise.
A fake testimonial can still sound personal.
The reader sees the signs of evidence without necessarily seeing real evidence. That becomes especially dangerous in investment scams.
People making financial decisions are often looking for reassurance. They want to know whether an opportunity is legitimate, whether others have tried it and whether the promised returns make sense.
A fake news article can appear to answer all three questions at once.
The media brand provides familiarity. The supposed expert provides authority. Testimonials suggest that other investors have already succeeded. Numbers and charts create an impression of precision.
Together, these features can make a questionable investment look as though it has already been examined and validated.
Fake reader comments can add another layer. A person scrolling through the page may come across supposed users talking about successful withdrawals, thanking the platform or encouraging others to join. The effect is similar to what happens inside fraudulent investment groups on WhatsApp or Telegram.
The reader is surrounded by apparent approval. That does not make the investment legitimate, but it can make doubt feel less necessary.
The quality of these fake articles is also improving. For years, people were told to look for obvious warning signs such as poor grammar, strange sentences and badly designed websites. Those clues can still help, but they are no longer enough.
Generative artificial intelligence makes it easier to produce cleaner writing, realistic images and convincing versions of established communication styles. A scam article can now look polished enough to pass a quick glance.
That means readers need to look beyond presentation. A familiar logo should be checked against the actual website address. A quoted expert should be traceable. Claims about regulators or financial institutions should be confirmed independently.
An established media outlet supposedly promoting a specific investment product should immediately raise questions.
The direction of the article also deserves attention. A genuine financial report may discuss a company, market trend or investment issue without pushing the reader towards an immediate transaction.
A scam article usually needs something more. It has to move the reader from reading to acting.
That may involve clicking a link, joining a messaging group, registering on another platform or depositing money.
The shift can be subtle. A story may begin by appearing informative, then gradually introduce claims about high returns, successful investors or limited opportunities before guiding the reader towards the next step.
At that point, the page may still look like journalism, but it is functioning as a sales tool. This is an important part of media literacy that deserves more attention.
Readers are often taught to ask whether information is true or false. They should also ask what the content is trying to get them to do.
A story that looks credible but constantly pushes the reader towards an investment decision should be treated with caution.
Star Media Group’s repeated warnings also show why trusted media brands are attractive to scammers. Credibility takes years to build. Scammers would rather borrow it than create it themselves.
The same principle applies beyond news organisations. Banks, government agencies, universities and well-known companies are impersonated for the same reason. Their names already carry trust.
Once that trust has been borrowed, language helps keep the deception going. This is why protecting people from these scams requires more than asking them to inspect a logo.
Readers need to look at the entire message. Who is making the claim? Can the source be verified? Does the article genuinely inform, or does it keep pushing towards a transaction? Are the expert comments real? Do the figures appear anywhere else? Does the investment exist outside the page being viewed?
These checks may take a few extra minutes, but they are worth it. A polished article is not necessarily a verified article, and a familiar news brand should never be treated as automatic proof that the page itself is genuine.
DR MUHAMMAD FAIZUL HAMID
Senior Lecturer
Malay Language Department
Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
