How phone fraudsters tried to trick an SCMP reporter into giving up her Hong Kong bank details with lure of easy money
- Reporter Rachel Yeo responds to stranger’s WhatsApp message offering freelance work ‘optimising apps’
- After crediting small amount, ‘Lina’ explains how no skills needed to earn as much as HK$1,500 in commissions daily on top of base salary of HK$31,000
A week ago, a WhatsApp message popped up on my smartphone describing an easy, lucrative freelance job requiring no skills and allowing me the freedom to work from home in Hong Kong or anywhere I liked.
“Kristy” was not in my contact list. Using a Vietnam mobile phone number, she claimed to represent an American-based recruitment website, Glassdoor.
Curious to know what would happen next, I replied that I needed a job.
Kristy said I had to be at least 22 years old, with a local bank account, and a Hongkonger, permanent resident or a visa holder because the company was “100 per cent [in] compliance with regulations”.
Within hours, I received a WhatsApp message from “Lina”, who used a local mobile phone number to explain the offer.
Although her instructions were vague, Lina said the job involved helping developers “optimise” their apps through a platform provided by a software company called Rocketech so they would rank higher in the Apple App Store and similar marketplaces.