Police have arrested six Hongkongers in a crackdown on a fraud syndicate which investigators say duped at least 68 job-hunters out of HK$7.5 million (US$961,500) over the past six months.

Officers began investigating the gang after noticing a sharp rise in the number of job-related scams online last year. In 2020, police handled 236 such cases, up from 66 the previous year. Fifty-four cases were reported in January alone this year.

Chief Inspector Cheung Wai-ho, of the cybersecurity and technology crime bureau, said fraudsters took advantage of the scale of unemployment in the city to prey on jobseekers. Hong Kong’s latest jobless rate for the three months to January reached 7 per cent – the highest in nearly 17 years, with 253,300 people out of work.

According to the force, the syndicate that police targeted in the operation was engaged in at least 68 scams between September 2020 and March this year.

The gang found its targets by placing recruitment advertisements online, luring victims by offering them monetary reward for e-shopping. The more transactions they completed the higher their financial gain, the syndicate told them.

“The syndicate promised that after the transaction, the victims would receive the principal and commission that was 5 to 12 per cent [of the amount they spent in online shopping],” Cheung said.

But the victims were instructed to deposit the money into syndicate-controlled bank accounts, instead of directly with the online shops, Cheung added.

He said they realised they were conned when they failed to receive the sum they put down and the commission they were promised, and were unable to contact the “employers”.

Chief Inspector Cheung Wai-ho speaks to the media about the police bust.

According to police, one of those scammed was a law firm accountant, 28, who lost HK$2 million – the biggest amount in the scam. She was arrested in December after being accused of embezzling the money from her company and released on bail.

The other victims each lost between HK$1,600 and HK$400,000, according to Chief Inspector Chiew Tsi-huen, of the New Territories South regional crime unit.

After an in-depth investigation, officers swooped on Monday to arrest six people in a series of raids across the city. During the operation, officers seized HK$210,000, along with six computers and 48 bank cards.

The suspects – five men and a woman – were arrested for conspiracy to defraud, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.

Chiew said two of the suspects were allegedly key figures of the syndicate and others included the holders of bank accounts which were used to collect money scammed from the victims.

He said one of the alleged key members was a 22-year-old man whose bank accounts had been used to collect HK$3.78 million from 38 victims.

As of midday on Tuesday, all the suspects were being held for questioning and none had been charged. Police said the investigation was continuing and further arrests were possible.

Cheung said the cyber world was not a lawless place and police would continue to gather intelligence to combat illegal activities.