Beware summer job scams, police tell students
Number of cases may be falling but victims are getting younger as fraudsters stalk internet
As the school holidays draw near, police are warning youngsters to be vigilant when looking for summer jobs, especially when using the internet.
Officers said that while the number of internet job scams fell from 13 cases with 17 victims in 2012 to just five cases with four victims last year, the popularity of social media among young people made them more susceptible.
In 2012, the victims were aged from 18 to 64; while last year, they were aged from 13 to 25.
The total number of job scam cases in the city fell from 21 in 2012 to 15 last year.
Senior inspector Otto Wong Yue-to, of the technology crime division, warned job seekers to be cautious when arranging to go to interviews.
Scammers were able to distribute recruitment notices via various online platforms to lure potential victims. They may then try to arrange a face-to-face meeting in order to extract money, credit cards or sensitive information from people under the guise of filling out employment applications.
"If anyone requests you provide personal information or if they want to take away your identity card, you have to be wary and clearly consider whether the request is reasonable," Wong said.