Romeo Tan impersonator gets tech 'upgrade' in scam, dubs voice over actor's video clip to ask girl for $1,300

Celebrity impersonators have been popping up more frequently and one unlucky Desmond Tan fan has even been scammed out of $20,000.

However, it seems that these conmen are now getting a technological 'upgrade' to make their scams seem more authentic.

In an interview with Lianhe Wanbao on Sunday (Aug 23), Romeo Tan dived deeper into a recent incident where a conman took one of the actor's video clips and recorded his own voice over it. 

The scammer then sent the edited video clip to a Thai woman to try to convince her to part with US$1,000 (S$1,369).

The 35-year-old told the Chinese daily that he had uploaded the original video clip onto his social media channels while he was filming in Taiwan.

The Thai female netizen who was targeted by the conman didn't know who Romeo was and spoke with the fake Romeo for seven months before getting suspicious when she was asked for the money.

She did her own sleuthing and that was when she realised it was a scam.

In the rather poorly edited (in our opinion) video that was shared on Romeo's Instagram Stories, the original audio was dubbed over by a man who mumbled in English: "This is me".

Romeo explained: "I've received so many messages about fake accounts that I'm numb to it. But what scared me this time was that there was a video, and it was cropped so that the mouth couldn't be seen during the dubbing."

From what he understands, the Thai woman didn't fall for the scam. She called the imposter out, warning him against impersonating Romeo and tarnishing his reputation. Romeo is not sure what has happened since then.

He feels that with celebrities sharing their lives on social media, it's really easy for conmen to impersonate them.

"The female netizen told me that the conman knew many things about my life. I think he has been observing me online for a while, and he's able to find out things about me and use my details to cheat others. It's scary and it's hard to stop these things from happening," Romeo added. 

He also warned the public to be wary of text messages from supposed celebrities asking for money. "I think public figures won't suddenly ask people for money. As long as it's got something to do with money or to transfer things, it's not possible.

"I'd also find it weird if my idol suddenly texts me one day and asks for money."

ALSO READ: Desmond Tan impersonator says 'I love you so much', female Malaysian fan gets scammed out of $20k

bryanlim@asiaone.com