Warning issued after university student loses HK$190,000 in internship scam

English-speaking con artists have targeted university students seeking summer internships, using a bogus 40-minute orientation session to make their dubious job offers appear genuine, Hong Kong police have warned.

The force issued the alert after a 19-year-old university first-year student fell for a dubious job offer last month and lost nearly HK$190,000, saying the scammers had prepared detailed scripts to deceive her and conducted the fraudulent recruitment process in English.

The force’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC) said the student had applied for several internship positions on LinkedIn in early March.

She became embroiled in the scam after responding to a message from an organisation claiming to be an “employment agency.” It informed her that the research assistant and project assistant roles she had applied for were already filled and immediately recommended another part-time job that required only a laptop and allowed her to work from home.

“To increase their credibility, the fraudsters communicated with the victim entirely in fluent English, introducing the so-called company’s background, business model and her duties,” police said on their website.

They added that the scammers had even arranged a 40-minute online “induction training” session for her.