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A GRIEVING family has been left outraged after discovering that a photograph of their late relative was being used without consent in a fraudulent social media fundraiser claiming she required RM80,000 for cancer treatment — despite her having died nearly a year ago.
Lynn Tan, 40, said the woman depicted in the post was her cousin, who had been battling cancer before passing away in December last year.
“We were shocked to find a Facebook page using her photo and claiming she needed RM80,000 for cancer treatment,” said Tan. “It’s completely false. She died months ago.”
Tan said she contacted the page while posing as a potential donor and was told they still needed around RM30,000 — implying that the scammers may have already raised as much as RM50,000 from unsuspecting members of the public.
“They assured me they were still short of RM30,000, which suggests they’ve already duped people into donating around RM50,000,” she explained.
Tan said the family was deeply upset by the misuse of the image and condemned the act as a serious offence.
“This is not only dishonest but cruel. To exploit someone who has passed away — it’s disgraceful,” she said.
She added that the family chose to speak out in the hopes of preventing others from falling victim to the same deception.
“We want the public to be aware. Please do not trust donation drives on social media without verifying their authenticity first,” she advised.
The family urged authorities to investigate the scam and called on social media platforms to take stronger action against fraudulent fundraising pages. - September 17, 2025