Filipino domestic helpers duped out of HK$180,000 in Hong Kong jobs scam
- The women were told they could help relatives and friends back home to get work in the city or Macau
- After they paid hefty agency fees, the jobs never materialised
At least eight foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong were conned out of HK$180,000 in an employment scam while trying to help relatives and friends in their hometowns find jobs in the city and neighbouring Macau, customs officials have said.
Offers of high salaries, regular hours and overtime work, along with free meals and accommodation, were used to dupe the eight victims – all Filipino women – according to Superintendent Suzette Ip Tung-ching, head of the squad investigating unfair trade practices.
“The victims were also told that their relatives and friends could apply for permanent residency in Hong Kong and Macau after securing the employment,” she said on Tuesday.
She said roles including waiter, gardener, builder and factory worker were on offer, with monthly salaries between HK$7,000 (US$900) and HK$13,000, but each applicant had to pay an agency fee of at least HK$12,000.
One of the victims was duped out of HK$24,000 – the biggest loss in a single case – when she tried to help her boyfriend apply for work as a cleaner in Macau.
Customs officers began investigating the scam after receiving a complaint in the summer of 2019. After an in-depth investigation, they identified two female suspects aged 42 and 54.
Two companies run by the older woman in Kwun Tong and To Kwa Wan were behind the scam, according to the Customs and Excise Department.
Officers believed the woman was the ringleader of the racket, which targeted domestic workers in the city from late 2018. The younger woman, they said, was her assistant and responsible for finding targets via Facebook and WhatsApp groups for the migrant workers. The victims were told the two companies were licensed employment agencies, but Ip said that was not the case.
After the victims paid the agency fees in Hong Kong, they received application forms to sign and the jobseekers were asked to do a medical examination in their hometown. The superintendent said this made the victims and their friends and relatives believe the applications were being processed.
Several months later, the victims realised they had been scammed when they did not receive any updates on the applications and they found the companies had ceased operations. They then lodged complaints with the department.
Last November, customs officers arrested the two women on suspicion of making false claims in the sale of employment agency services to domestic helpers, to the effect that the companies were licensed employment agencies and could provide job referral services.
Ip said this was in violation of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, and carried a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a HK$500,000 fine.
She said the department would seek legal advice from the Department of Justice and might work with the police force to look into the deception involved.
Although the companies ceased operations late last year, she said she believed other workers had fallen victim to the scam but had not come forward. She urged them to contact officers via customs’ 24-hour hotline on 2545 6182.
“Be cautious when someone offers a job which sounds too good to believe,” she said, adding that applicants should use employment services at reputable shops and do some research before making payments.
