Police dismantle modelling job scam syndicate, arrest 10 in HK$2.16 million fraud ring
Hong Kong police arrested 10 people for a scam syndicate that used fake modelling job ads to create mule e-wallet accounts, linked to 43 fraud cases and HK$2.16 million in losses. Victims included 26 students, with 60 per cent falling for concert ticket scams.
Hong Kong police have dismantled a fraud syndicate that lured jobseekers into opening e-wallet accounts for criminal use, arresting 10 people in connection with 43 fraud cases totalling more than HK$2.16 million in losses, authorities said on Tuesday.
The suspects, five men and five women aged 13 to 68, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, police said. The group is alleged to have posted fake modelling job advertisements on social media between October 2024 and May this year, tricking applicants into registering e-wallet accounts using phone numbers provided by the syndicate, under the pretext of facilitating salary payments.
The syndicate then used at least eight of these mule accounts to receive payments from at least 43 online shopping and prostitution-related scams, according to police. The 43 victims, including 13 men and 30 women, were aged 13 to 68. About 60 per cent were students, with some falling prey to concert ticket fraud.
Among those arrested, three are suspected to be core members of the syndicate. Police investigations revealed they transferred most of the illicit proceeds to personal accounts and laundered the money through daily expenses at high-end massage parlours, a tertiary institution restaurant and a clinic. One man and one woman, believed to be a couple, are local tertiary students.
During the operation, police seized 17 mobile phones, two computers, three routers and more than HK$40,000 in cash. They also intercepted HK$3.5 million in suspected crime proceeds from one member's account.
Police urged the public to be wary of online job advertisements promising high pay without experience or quick cash, and advised people never to hand over control of their bank or e-wallet accounts to strangers or register personal accounts using phone numbers provided by others.