Buying jobs: hard-pressed China youth conned into paying US$28,000 or more in fees to secure employment as economy falters
- Fraudulent scammers rife on social media ‘sell’ jobs to struggling youth
- Youth unemployment, excluding students, reaches 14.9 per cent in China
Desperate for work young people in China are falling prey in increasing numbers to online scams promising them steady jobs in return for vast fees.
The illegal schemes are rampant on recruitment sites and social media platforms, such as Xiaohongshu, according to a report by Chinese media outlet Sina Tech in February.
The scammers disguise themselves as employment consulting companies and post details about well-paid job openings, sometimes with state-owned enterprises.
When young jobseekers applied to the companies they found out they would be charged for “services”.
The fee varies depending on the job being advertised and the type of company.
For example, a post with a big private firm could cost the jobseeker 10,000 yuan (US$1,400), while one at a state-owned company could be as much as 200,000 yuan. If a post at a state-owned company came with bian zhi, the fee could reach more than 450,000 yuan (US$63,300).