Xiang Yun victim of fake ads again

SINGAPORE - Home-grown actress Xiang Yun's image has been misused yet again in fake advertisements.

In the latest incident, she posted several screenshots of the fake ads on Facebook on Friday (Feb 18), writing in Chinese: "In the last few months, some criminals have been stealing photos I shared on social media and using different accounts to buy ads on Facebook, so as to sell various products such as traditional Chinese medicine, skin care products and jewellery."

The 60-year-old, whose real name is Chen Cuichang, said she has filed a police report and thanked friends who provided her with information and pictures of the fake ads.

Some of the ads she warned against on Facebook had also appropriated photos of other celebrities such as her husband Edmund Chen and actress Chen Liping.

In November last year, Xiang Yun alerted her fans that her image was being falsely used to promote skin care products. In March, it was used to set up a fake account, which claimed that it would give cash to its first 300 followers.

She told Chinese-language evening daily Shin Min Daily News that such fake accounts would usually disappear swiftly after she alerted netizens on social media.

"My photos were used this time for product promotion, with some of them even offering tempting promotional prices such as selling them for $8 instead of the original price of $68." 

She said she has never seen or used the products, despite the claims made by these ads.

She added that one of her friends was duped by them into spending $9 on a few bars of soap.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.