It’s no secret that celebrities and public figures can sway the general public towards buying certain products and using certain services.
Unfortunately, scammers also know this and are using our favourite local sportsman to get people to fall for their scam.
Malaysian badminton icon Datuk Wira Lee Chong Wei recently took to his Facebook page to warn the general public of a deepfake video of him promoting a financial scheme.
He wrote, “Please be alert! It’s crazy what scammers are doing these days. I’m shocked to see this fake video of me promoting a certain financial programme. Also, there are hundreds of fake accounts using me and my wife’s profiles. So, please be careful about what you are reading or watching.”
“Also, I truly feel sorry for an ex-teammate who fell into a scam herself. Hopefully, the authorities can come up with solutions before more innocent people are cheated.”
Lee Chong Wei vs Lee Chong NAY.
In his post, he also shared a comparison of the original video of him during a television interview with Astro Arena, with the deepfake version made by scammers, which is set to look like a report by Astro Awani.
In the original video, Datuk Wira Lee Chong Wei is speaking Bahasa Malaysia (BM) while in the deepfake video, he’s speaking English with an odd accent.
“The things that scammers are doing these days are absurd. I was shocked to see this fictitious video of me endorsing a certain financial scheme. Furthermore, my wife’s and my profiles are being used by hundreds of fraudulent accounts,”
“Thus, please use caution when reading or watching anything,” he said while emphasising that he hopes the authorities will find solutions to this issue.
You can check out Datuk Wira Lee Chong Wei’s comparison video here:
What do you think about this? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
Also read: Dr Noor Hisham Threatens to Sue Herbal Drink Brand for Allegedly Using Him to Promote Their Products
