Job-seekers lose cash deposits in courier scam

Gullible job-seekers are paying cash up front to fraudsters who recruit them to carry 'valuable' goods to the border in the expectation of being paid handsomely for their courier duties - only to find their deposits gone and the contents of their packages worthless.

They pay to ensure they will not make off with the goods before handing them to a contact at or across the border, but when they arrive the contact is nowhere to be found. It is one of the new tricks used in online job scams that have prompted police to set up a special task force to tackle the problem.

Officers say 23 per cent more people fell victim to job fraud last year than in 2009.

'As summer is approaching, it is a prime time for teenagers to find jobs. But some may be too keen on getting a job, creating an opportunity for conmen to deceive them out of their money,' said Superintendent Denis Chan Sung-shing of the commercial crime bureau.

He said the cheats often offered jobs with low qualification requirements but high pay. 'Remember, there really is no free lunch in this world.'

Of 10 recruitment scams reported in the first three months of this year, the courier trick accounted for nine.

Detective Chief Inspector Maxim Kwok Mei-sum, who also works at the bureau, said in some cases victims were told they would get several thousand dollars for transporting expensive gadgets.