MAS warns of second fake website linking DPM Tharman to bitcoin investments
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday (19 September) warned of a second fake website using fabricated comments attributed to MAS Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam to solicit bitcoin investments.
A screencap of a page hosted on website positivebathhour.com displayed a picture of Tharman along with the headline: “Tharman Shanmugaratnam launches hi-tech digital project for Singaporians (sic). This will make you rich in just seven days.”
This comes a day after the authority warned of a similar website containing an article that falsely attributed comments to Tharman.
In Tuesday’s statement, the MAS said that the article was “highly deceptive and misleading”.
“The statements attributed to DPM Tharman are completely false, apart from his observation that trading volumes in cryptocurrency are low in Singapore,” said the authority.
The article, hosted at gulfweedcrab.com according to a screencap provided by the MAS, was titled: “Tharman Shanmugaratnam invests $1 billion for all Singapore residents. Use his method to become rich in just 7 days!”
It also described Tharman as a “venture capitalist” who announced that Singapore is stepping into the bitcoin cryptocurrency market.
The website also called for readers to sign up for a Bitcoin account and requested for credit card or bank account details.
The authority called for the public to “exercise extreme caution” when dealing with such websites and to avoid providing any financial or personal information to them.
It added that those who suspect that an investment could be fraudulent or misused for other unlawful activities should report such cases to the police.
The MAS had earlier issued an advisory on 19 December last year to warn the public of the risks of cryptocurrency investments.
“DPM Tharman had in fact stated in a reply to a Parliamentary Question on 5 February 2018 that Singaporeans ‘could lose their shirts when they invest money in cryptocurrencies’,” it added.
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