KUALA LUMPUR: A scam syndicate has been using a photo of a stroke victim and his family to collect illegal donations, says his 40-year-old wife Moo Lee Yoon.
Moo said that the syndicate has been posting the photos on social media, pretending to be a charity organisation for several months.
She said that her husband, Ng Choun Ying, 59, suffered a stroke and was paralysed in 2022.
"We asked for help from an NGO in Kajang, who posted about our situation on social media to raise donations," she said.
"However, a charity foundation of a media organisation approached us and managed to grant us RM2,500 monthly for three years.
"We then asked the NGO in Kajang to stop posting about the donation drive on social media," she added at a press conference organised by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department at Wisma MCA on Wednesday (Dec 4).
Moo - who has six children aged between four and 21 - said she discovered that the family photo was still being circulated on social media by a fake NGO, asking for donations, in June this year.
"I have already lodged four police reports on the matter, but the photos and social media posts have not been taken down. As a result, many people, including my children's friends, have criticised our family, accusing us of being scammers," she said.
Moo, who works as a cleaner, hoped the authorities could take stern action, as the scammers have been using the photos for various similar posts on social media.
"We hope people won't be scammed by such tactics," she said.
Meanwhile, MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong said Moo's case was not the first the department has received.
"Another tactic used by scammers is to call people and claim that a charity needs a certain amount of money to reach their donation target.
"We hope people will be wary of such tactics," he said.
Chong urged the police and other relevant authorities to take action as soon as possible, as the family is receiving unnecessary criticism due to the scammers' actions.
"We will also write to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to take down the social media posts by the scammers," he said.
