THE Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) programme has become a lifeline for millions of Malaysians, helping them purchase essential items at participating retail stores.
But with any successful government initiative comes those looking to exploit it for their own gain.
A warning has emerged that scammers are allegedly posing as MyKasih Foundation staff to collect deposits from retailers wanting to join the Sara programme. But is this scam actually happening?
Verdict:
TRUE
MyKasih Foundation has confirmed that irresponsible parties are impersonating its staff to deceive prospective Sara retail partners into making deposit payments as a condition for joining the initiative.
In a statement on its Facebook page on Feb 13, the foundation emphasised that no fees or charges are imposed for joining, registering or going through the registration process as a Sara retail partner.
Retail shop owners interested in joining the Sara initiative are advised not to make any deposit payments to any party for registration purposes.
They should contact merchant@mykasih.com for any enquiries or verification, and report any suspicious payment requests to MyKasih Foundation through whistle@mykasih.com.
The foundation urged all traders and the public to always be vigilant and refer only to its official communication channels for information, namely www.mykasih.com.my and www.facebook.com/
Official information regarding the Sara initiative can be obtained at https://sara.gov.my.
MyKasih Foundation takes seriously any attempt to deceive or exploit the Sara initiative for fraudulent purposes and will cooperate with relevant authorities if necessary.
