Macau Residents Fall Victim to Southeast Asia Casino Job Scams

The Chinese Judiciary Police has received reports of five cases of Macau residents being tricked into working illegal jobs involving fraudulent activities or human trafficking in various countries in Southeast Asia.

Young Macau Residents Are Tempted with High Salaries to Work Dubious Jobs Abroad

Macau residents are being tempted with casino jobs paying suspiciously high salaries of $5,000 or more in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.

A spokesperson from the Judiciary Police has shared information at a press conference held on August 18 that two men and three women reported on offers they or their family members received involving work at casinos abroad. All of the victims are young people in their twenties.

One of the cases was reported by a young woman whose brother was lured to Laos with a public relations position at a casino where a friend of his was working. He was offered $5,000 as monthly payment but when he arrived it turned out that he was forced to perform fraudulent activities. He eventually managed to escape. His siter reported that he is now safe and is located in another country in Southeast Asia.

Another man also received a similar offer for a PR job with a high salary but saw reports on job scams on the news so he decided not to go and reported the case to the police.

The police also managed to persuade three women that were set to travel to Cambodia for jobs at a casino to give up their trip.

The Police Warn People to Be Vigilant

The press conference held by the Judicial Police aimed to warn residents of the risks such job offers pose. The police elaborated that the scam job offers come through websites, social media or even friends and relatives. They warned people to be vigilant and not too thrusting, especially in case the offer includes working and payment conditions that are too good to be true.

The victims of such job scams are usually lured abroad and then trapped. They are sometimes even held hostage or kept imprisoned and forced to do illegal activities such as telephone fraud, for example.

Similar Reports from Hong Kong

Similar cases have been reported by the authorities in Hong Kong. 20 Hong Kong residents have been tricked with such scam job offers abroad, where they were trapped and they or their relatives tried to get help from the Hong Kong police. The police reported that 8 are still not detected in Myanmar, while 12 are already safe with 10 of them back in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong authorities have set up a special task force aiming to track and help the victims of such scams.