In a joint statement, PAWS Animal Welfare Society, Second Chance Animal Society, and Homeless & Orphan Pet Exist (HOPE) Johor said that scammers had taken advantage of the “altruistic nature”of their organisations.
PAWS said two of its bank accounts have been frozen, while HOPE Johor is experiencing a decline in donations mainly due to security issues revolving around online transactions.
Second Chance meanwhile says they could be blacklisted, but did not indicate by whom.
The NGOs alleged that scammers would engage victims on the Telegram chat app, promising financial rewards if they donated to specific animal NGOs.
Victims are then coerced into substantial payments for fictional online stocks and cryptocurrency investments, resulting in financial losses, they said.
However, when these scams are investigated by the authorities, it would lead to the freezing of the NGOs’ bank accounts, the groups said.
PAWS shelter manager Edward Lim said they were baffled when their bank accounts were frozen.
“Only when donors informed us of this scam did we realise we have been targeted by unscrupulous scammers, exploiting the public’s goodwill,” he said, adding that they have since directed donors to their website with a secure gateway.
Second Chance and HOPE Johor claimed some scammers came up with fake Touch N’ Go and DuitNow QR codes, misleading the public into believing they were donating to the NGOs.
Second Chance president Kim Yeoh said they have since directed their bank to halt all incoming transactions. “But this led to the daunting challenge in meeting RM40,000 of monthly expenses to sustain over 500 rescued animals.”
HOPE Johor manager Iris Leong said these scams had made the public reluctant to donate which led to a substantial decrease in funds.
“This significantly affects our operations, making it challenging to cover essential expenses such as medical and food costs,” she said and urged the public to be more cautious and use reputable third-party payment platforms.
PetFinder.my, an online animal welfare platform, said it was working with affected NGOs to improve its online donation channels, with hopes to instil greater confidence in the public.