2 women lose HK$140,000 in ‘boosting sales’ job scams, as Hong Kong police warn of surge in such crimes
- A 28-year-old lost HK$82,000 and a 20-year-old lost HK$57,814 after depositing money into bank accounts held by scammers
- So far this year 1,625 cases of online employment scams, resulting in losses of HK$211.6 million, have been reported
Police received two calls within three hours on Monday night from jobseekers duped out of nearly HK$140,000 (US$17,830) in a common type of online employment fraud in Hong Kong, known as the “boosting sales” scam.
This type of scam has pushed the number of overall online employment frauds to 1,625 in the first half of this year, totalling HK$211.6 million in losses. The amount is more than 10 times the HK$20.3 million swindlers pocketed in 350 cases in the same period of 2021.
According to the force, scammers will send out fake job offers through instant-message services such as WhatsApp to victims, offering them monetary rewards for e-shopping. The jobseekers were told the shopping helped boost sales and the popularity of the online retail platforms, but they had to pay in advance.
Swindlers promised that after the transactions, the victims would receive the principal and commission. But they were instructed to deposit the payment for the goods into bank accounts controlled by tricksters instead of directly with the online shops.
One of the two victims who called police on Monday night was a 28-year-old woman who received commissions in the first few rounds of her “missions”.
According to police, she was coaxed into transferring money into three designated bank accounts after being lured to do more transactions.
“She realised she had been conned after she did not receive the money she paid and the promised commission, and she was unable to contact the fraudster,” police said on Tuesday. She lost HK$82,000.