Graduates beware when job hunting! He believed an online recruitment ad asking to "transfer money to prove financial capability" and lost his savings instead
2026/06/19 00:00
Photo and text from CTWANT
A citizen mistakenly believed a job ad on a social platform, not only failing to find a job but also losing a sum of money. (Illustration / Photo by Jiao Zhengde)
Recruitment ads on social platforms hide traps! A fresh graduate saw modeling and translation job openings and actively applied. Unexpectedly, he was led to join a LINE group and step by step instructed to invest money and provide proof of financial capability. It wasn't until a relative reminded him that he realized it was all a scam.
The Ministry of the Interior's National Police Agency's "165 Anti-Fraud Dashboard" recently shared a case. The individual stated that he had just become a fresh graduate and planned to immediately map out his job search. One day, he saw a modeling recruitment ad on a social platform. The job content was very appealing. After evaluating his appearance, he clicked on the ad's LINE link to express his application.
The individual mentioned that the other party asked him to go to the LINE group's notes section, leave a message under the modeling job item, take a screenshot, and send it back to complete the application process. Then, the other party introduced another supervisor-level person to him, briefly introducing the company's business development. The next day, he saw two more translation job ads. Thinking his foreign language skills were decent and that translation would be easy money, he clicked on the application link. Unexpectedly, the process was the same: leave a message in the LINE notes, take a screenshot, and send it back, followed by a private message contact.
The individual said that he initially thought these companies would assign modeling or translation work after introducing their business. However, all of them unanimously introduced him to another job opening — "earning commissions by selling products on consignment." Under their constant persuasion, he lost sight of his original job-seeking goal and instead believed that consignment was a rare money-making opportunity. Some companies wanted him to invest in their business to share profits, while others asked him to transfer money as proof of financial capability.
The individual said that at the time, he followed their various instructions to transfer money and began fantasizing about the day he would achieve financial freedom. Later, he shared his seemingly successful job search story with relatives and friends. But his relatives found it suspicious and warned him that it might be a job scam. Only then did he calmly reflect: all the money had gone out with no return, and he didn't even know the addresses of those companies. "It suddenly dawned on me — it was all talk, all deceptive talk!"
In response, the "165 Anti-Fraud Dashboard" listed 5 anti-fraud tips:
- Be alert if a job application requires you to first transfer money, invest, or pay a deposit.
- Legitimate jobs will not require job seekers to provide proof of financial capability or pay upfront to start working.
- Be especially cautious of words like "high profit," "low risk," or "get rich quick."
- For part-time ads on social platforms, verify the company's background and legitimacy through multiple channels.
- If you are asked to keep transferring money to withdraw profits, it is almost certainly a scam.
