SCAMMERS are constantly coming up with new tricks, and a recent incident showed how fraudsters are now misusing the identity of beloved public figures to swindle people out of their money.
A viral Threads post recently exposed a scam attempt on WhatsApp, where an individual impersonated popular chef and entrepreneur Khairul Aming, asking for RM200.
The post, shared by user @khidrrr, included a screenshot of the WhatsApp conversation.
The scammer, using the name “Khairul Aman” and the celebrity’s signature yellow backdrop profile picture, initiated the chat with Khairul Aming’s iconic greeting: “Hey, what’s up.” He then claimed he needed to borrow RM200 to pay taxes for his hit product, Sambal Nyet.
Claiming that his bank account was under maintenance, the scammer promised to repay the money later along with a free bottle of Sambal Nyet, which retails for RM13.99.
He also provided bank details under the name “Amirul,“ claiming it belonged to his nephew.
“Amirul is my nephew. You don’t need to worry because I’m really Khairul Aming,” the scammer insisted.
To further ‘prove’ his identity, he followed up with another message, saying “Hey wasap,” declaring it as the “legit proof” of being the real Khairul Aming.
The attempt quickly drew attention online, with many mocking the absurdity of the situation. User @munni.krbni sarcastically responded, “Trusted scammer.”
Another user, @noxstrings, questioned the scammer’s logic: “Khairul Aming gives RM200 each to every one of his workers, totalling RM200 x 10. So why would he need RM200 from a stranger—unless you’re buying his 10 packs of Dendeng Nyet?”
Netizens also poked fun at the scammer’s choice of username, “Khairul Aman,” which was clearly a misspelling of the celebrity’s actual name, Khairul Aming.
The scam surfaced just the next day after Khairul Aming was recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records as the fastest to achieve RM1 million in sales—reaching the milestone in just 19 seconds.
