Scam alert: fake South China Morning Post article features Hong Kong singer G.E.M. promoting online trading app

The fake article features excerpts of a fictitious interview with the singer by the Chinese talk show host Chen Luyu

The article is almost identical to a previous scam article featuring Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow, which was also debunked by the Post last week

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Hong Kong singer Gloria Tang, also known by her stage name G.E.M., featured in a fictitious article promoting a financial investment app. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 1:16pm, 20 May 2024Updated: 1:30pm, 20 May 2024

Another fictitious article with the appearance of a South China Morning Post news story has circulated on social media, at least the third time this month, aiming to promote an online financial trading tool.

The fake article, hosted on a website not associated with the Post, features excerpts of a fictitious interview with Hong Kong singer Gloria Tang Tsz-kei, widely known as G.E.M., on a talk show.

The article is almost identical in form and narrative to a previous scam article debunked by the Post last week, where renowned Hong Kong filmmaker and actor Stephen Chow Sing-chi promoted the same financial investment app in an interview by state broadcaster CCTV.

Using the Post’s logo, design and a real business reporter’s byline, both fake articles featuring G.E.M. and Chow claim that the stars referred to the online trading app during a live broadcast where they “accidentally revealed [their] secret” to making a fortune.

Another fictitious article with the appearance of a South China Morning Post news story has circulated on social media. Photo: Post Handout

The articles also suggested an editor at the Post had successfully used the trading platform.

The SCMP published no such stories, and the reports are categorically fake, the Post said.

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