MUAR, July 26 — The public is urged to remain vigilant against fraudulent links circulated by scammers related to the one-off RM100 cash assistance under the Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) initiative, which are designed to collect personal information, said Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
She said the scammers often employ deceptive tactics by sharing links accompanied by posters that appear convincing, incorporating official-looking elements such as the Malaysia Madani and Bersama Malaysiaku logos to mislead recipients.
“One such example is the link BantuanNegara.com, which falsely claims to provide official information about the RM100 Sara aid and prompts users to submit their personal information. The Ministry of Finance confirmed yesterday that this link is fake,” she said.
“My advice is, if the information truly comes from the government, the link will typically end with ‘.gov.my’ – where ‘gov’ stands for government,” she told reporters after attending the Madani Community Service programme held in conjunction with the launch of National Month and Fly the Jalur Gemilang campaign here.
She added that numerous complaints had been received regarding the matter, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had taken steps to block the fraudulent link.
Teo said that such scams often evolve by creating new websites with similar names, such as ‘BantuanNegara1.com’ or ‘BantuanNegara2.com’, and urged the public to remain vigilant.
She also stressed that no money will be deposited into e-wallets or Touch ‘n Go accounts. Instead, eligible MyKad holders only need to present their identification cards at participating outlets, including Lotus’s, Mydin, 99 Speedmart and selected grocery stores — to access the benefits.
“The primary role of the MyKad in this programme is solely to verify the identity of recipients. It has no connection to any e-wallet platform, so there’s no need to worry if your MyKad isn’t linked to certain applications,” Teo said.
She also urged the public to rely only on official websites or verified social media accounts of government agencies, such as the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Communications for the latest and most accurate information.
“Our tagline for fake news is ‘If you’re not sure, don’t share.’ Today, I want to add: ‘If you’re not sure, don’t click,’” she added. — Bernama
