Woman Loses HK$1.2 Million in Rating Task Scam
On.cc · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A 44-year-old woman was lured by a Facebook advertisement promising a free thermal flask and then contacted the scammers through WhatsApp. She was persuaded to join supposed video-rating tasks through a fake mainland streaming-platform link, after being told the work was an easy way to make money. At first, she did not need to put in any capital and received nearly HK$100 for each rating task, which lowered her guard. The fraudsters later claimed she could earn a 10% commission by depositing more money into designated accounts, and she eventually transferred more than HK$1.2 million to multiple accounts in one day.
Key Points
- The scam began with a Facebook advertisement offering a “free thermal flask”, which prompted the 44-year-old victim to contact the fraudsters on WhatsApp.
- The woman was directed to click a bogus link impersonating a mainland film-and-television platform to carry out video-rating “task order” jobs.
- In the early stage, no upfront payment was required, and each completed rating task brought her a return of nearly HK$100.
- After gaining her trust, the scammers said larger deposits into specified bank accounts would generate a 10% commission on the amount paid in.
- Police said they received more than 30 online job scam reports in the past week alone, with total losses exceeding HK$5 million.
Why It Matters
The case shows how online job scams can be disguised as giveaways and low-risk side hustles, making them easier for victims to trust. It also underlines a wider pattern in Hong Kong, where dozens of similar online employment scams in a single week caused losses of more than HK$5 million. Police warnings that supposed commissions may simply be partial returns of victims’ own deposits point to the need for stronger public vigilance over “free gift” promotions and high-return task jobs