Two women lose RM79,498 in new cases of ‘boosting sales’ job scam, 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$211.6mil, have been reported. — SCMP

Police received two calls within three hours on Monday night from jobseekers duped out of nearly HK$140,000 (RM79,498) 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$211.6mil (RM120.15mil) in losses. The amount is more than 10 times the HK$20.3mil (RM11.53mil) swindlers pocketed in 350 cases in the same period of 2021.