Scams are prevalent in Malaysia – and unfortunately, some celebrities have also fallen victim to these fraud tactics. Most recently, local influencer Cathryn Li (李元玲) exposed how a scammer tried to lure her by pretending to be an old classmate.
The influencer took to Threads on 25th February 2025 (Tuesday) to share her experience. In the now-deleted post, Cathryn shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between her and the alleged scammer. The individual claimed to be her classmate at the National University of Singapore, even attaching a photo of a young Chinese man to “prove” their identity. However, Cathryn was never a student at the university and quickly picked up on the scam tactic.
In her post, the influencer lamented, “There is no way he could have mistaken me because my name and profile picture are there. Do you think this person is trying to defraud me by tricking me into chatting with him? Having a relationship with him? Asking for money to treat his illness? Betting on his financial projects? Buying me an expensive gift but asking me to pay the import tax? Or something else? Can you help me with this? What excuses will fraud groups use to ask for money?”
The post prompted many responses from netizens – including from the man in the photo. Since Cathryn didn’t blur out the man’s face, she accidentally exposed his identity. He then left a comment to clarify the matter, saying someone had stolen his photo to commit fraud. He also revealed that he’s a medical aesthetic doctor and would never scam anyone. Cathryn then responded to the man, thanking him for clarifying the issue.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Cathryn almost became a scam victim. Given her popularity and wealth, the public figure often finds herself a target of fraud. She previously shared that a man had suddenly asked to borrow RM38,000 to save his company. Cathryn said the man was a local celebrity she had only known for a few months. Thankfully, fans warned her not to give the money away, so Cathryn escaped the situation.
It must be stressful for Cathryn to deal with such scammers so often. We hope this issue reminds her and the public to be vigilant, especially on social media.
Source: Moretify
