Fraudsters conned a Hong Kong jobseeker out of HKD 450,000 (USD 57,325) using HKD 700 (USD 89.17) as bait in a type of online employment fraud known as a “boosting sales” scam, reports South China Morning Post.  The victim, a 34-year-old local woman, had responded to a social media advertisement to earn commission as a “click farmer” for a shopping website, according to the police. Her ‘objective’ was to increase sales and the popularity of a retail outlet by using her own money to shop online, with the swindlers promising to pay her back. To win her trust, the scammers paid her HKD 700 (89.17) as commission at the beginning. The woman was then persuaded into transferring about HKD 450,000 (USD 57,325) into seven designated bank accounts controlled by the swindlers after being lured into carrying out more transactions, police said.

She realised she had been scammed after she did not receive the money she had spent, as well as the commission, and was unable to reach the fraudsters. The woman then called police. Detectives are handling the case. No arrests have been made so far.