Homemaker scammed after responding to advertisement promoting food posted on Facebook

KUCHING, May 4 2026: A homemaker has said that she has been scammed of an undisclosed amount of money in her bank account after she came across an advertisement on Facebook promoting home-cooked food. 

Caption: The homemaker seeking assistance from Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen's special assistant Michael Kong 

Upon expressing interest, Madam Chan contacted the alleged vendor via WhatsApp call.

During the call, the individual insisted on sending her a menu, but she  declined as she already had a specific dish in mind.

“When the caller persisted, she ended the call out of frustration,” Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s special assistant Michael Kong said in a statement today, after the woman came to seek his assistance to get back her money from the bank.

Kong said within minutes, Madam Chan noticed that her phone began behaving abnormally, adding shortly after, her son informed her that multiple contacts had received messages from her number requesting money.

“Alarmed, she immediately contacted her bank and discovered three unauthorised transactions from her savings account and one from her credit card account,” he said.

Despite lodging a dispute with the bank, Kong said her claim was rejected on the basis that her User ID and password were used to access her account, and that her device “may have been compromised due to malware”.

“This explanation is deeply unsatisfactory. She has categorically stated that she did not download any applications or click into any links.

“The only interaction she had was a WhatsApp call with the alleged scammer,” Kong said, adding that this raises serious concerns about the evolving tactics of scammers, who may now be capable of exploiting vulnerabilities through seemingly harmless interactions such as calls or social media engagement.

“This case highlights a new wave of scams, where fraudsters are becoming increasingly technologically sophisticated, potentially gaining access to devices without the victim knowingly downloading anything.

“We are currently assisting Madam Chan in lodging an appeal with the Financial Markets Ombudsman Services to challenge the bank’s decision and to seek a fair resolution.

“At the same time, I urge members of the public to exercise extreme caution when encountering advertisements on platforms such as Facebook.

“Even seemingly legitimate offers (such as food sales or services) may be entry points for scammers,” he added.

Kong said scammers are constantly evolving, and traditional assumptions about how scams work are no longer sufficient.

“What may appear to be a simple phone call could now be part of a larger phishing or device-compromise scheme.

“Financial institutions must also step up in addressing these cases with greater accountability, especially where there is clear evidence that victims played no part in the compromise of their own security,” he said.