Scammer in love scam involving Singapore actor Laurence Pang doctored photos of former Star Search finalist

In the days following the revelation that Singapore actor Laurence Pang had lost S$35,000 in a love scam, former Star Search 2019 finalist Vanessa Ho has shared that her pictures had been misappropriated and doctored by the scammers to cheat Pang.

The 25-year-old influencer said a friend had highlighted how the purported images of the scammer – used in an Instagram Reel by Singapore-based news outlet Mothership to report the love scam – resembled Ho's.

According to Ho, one photo was taken from a mattress advertisement she did in May 2023. Another was from a lunch at a Japanese restaurant she posted in November 2023.

Ho initially accused Mothership of editing her pictures for their story. However, she later admitted on her Instagram Stories that Mothership wouldn’t have known better and apologised for her outburst.

Ho claimed that the initial copywriting by Mothership "was unclear" but thanked the outlet for making amendments.

In an amended post on her Instagram page, Ho wrote: "With the former copies, some followers were alluded to think I was involved in the crime and shared negative messages. Mothership has kindly amended the copies to clarify that the photos were shared by the scammers and not an accurate representation of the criminal.

"I can attest that Mothership was not the [one] that edited the photos, but the initial copywriting was unclear and [was] promptly edited with disclaimers today. Thank you to those who sent me articles and references to help me understand the situation better, and to Mothership for the amendments."

At Star Search 2019, Vanessa Ho was awarded the Samsung Galaxy Breakthrough Award, and received S$10,000 in cash and a trip to South Korea.

According to an interview with the lifestyle site Zula, Ho turned down a contract to be a full-time actress then and went into financial technology.

Ho is now a co-founder and investment lead of Fintech Nation, a not-for-profit grassroots organisation that serves as an investment platform and think tank.

This story was originally published in 8Days.