Friends lured to Cambodia as phone scammers with promises of ‘high salaries’

Four mainland men, lured by a high-paying overseas job scam, were about to travel to Cambodia via Macau International Airport under the guise of tourism but were eventually stopped by the Judiciary Police (PJ) after being alerted by their mainland counterparts.

The law enforcement agencies on both sides joined forces to look into the case. At a special press conference held on Friday, police announced that the four men from mainland China, aged between 20 and 29, are friends but are not students.

On July 17, Macau police received a report from the mainland’s anti-deception coordination center regarding a man from the mainland who was about to depart for Cambodia via Macau International Airport and was suspected of being a victim of a “high-paying overseas job” scam. Simultaneously, the man’s family contacted the police seeking assistance.
In response, PJ officers were sent to the departure hall of the airport to stop the allegedly defrauded man and the three friends accompanying him. They were brought back to the PJ headquarters for further investigation.

Upon investigation, police learned that the victim had been recruited online last month to work as an “investment customer service agent” in Cambodia, promising a monthly salary of RMB10,000 plus “high commissions.”

During the press conference, the police revealed that the job the victim was recruited for was not legitimate but rather part of a telecommunications fraud scheme. The criminal gang behind the scam had given the victim money for travel and advised him to go to Cambodia through Macau as a tourist, as it would be easier to avoid the strict exit regulations enforced in the mainland.

In this context, the PJ advised the public to be cautious about believing recruitment information from strangers online. They urge people to be especially wary of job offers involving overseas travel that do not require any specific skills, qualifications, or work experience while promising high salaries.

Additionally, individuals are always urged to refrain from sharing personal identification and banking information with unknown people and to avoid helping anyone send or receive money from unfamiliar sources during the job recruitment process.