Crime | Scams involving online sales promotion and investment schemes continue

Five local residents have reportedly been involved in a scam involving the advertisement and promotion of product sales on the internet, the Judiciary Police (PJ) announced.

According to separate reports made to PJ within the past week, four different residents saw an advertisement by a company “HK Tv Mall” seeking to recruit collaborators for online sales.

The scheme involved an initial investment from the “freelance” sellers who were required to obtain a quantity of products up front, which they could then sell for a commission of 20% of the sale price.

The five residents decided to take up this opportunity and invested amounts ranging between HKD22,000 and HKD82,000.

According to the reports, the sales were made through social media platforms, and products were handed to the clients. However, none of the people received the commission to which they were entitled. They filed complaints against the company with the PJ in response.

Concurrent to this, another five people reported falling victim to an online investment scam advertised on social media.

The five victims reportedly lost sums ranging between RMB17,000 and 256,000. They informed PJ that soon after the investments were made and money transferred, they lost contact with the purported investment agent.