What are the pitfalls of high-paying jobs with zero threshold? Shanghai cracked the first case of "overseas recruitment" fraud
It claimed that as long as you participate in an online interview, you can get an overseas job with a monthly salary of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan after tax. In the end, after paying a handling fee of 20,000 yuan, the applicant only got a tourist visa. Today, Shanghai disclosed a recently uncovered "overseas recruitment" scam, and the fraud gang's modus operandi was exposed.
In February this year, Mr. Chen, who had been working in Shanghai for a long time, reported to the Baoshan Public Security Criminal Investigation Detachment that he saw information about working abroad on a short video platform. After adding customer service for consultation, he was attracted by the high-paying jobs and paid more than 20,000 yuan in handling fees. However, in the end, he not only did not get an overseas job, but was also blacklisted.
Mr. Chen said that the agency promised him a construction worker job abroad with a monthly salary of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan after tax, and the procedures were very simple. Under the guidance of the other party, he paid more than 20,000 yuan in registration fees, handling fees and other fees, and participated in a simple online interview, but after waiting for four months, he only got a tourist visa.
The police found that Mr. Chen was not alone in falling into the "foreign employment trap". "We started with the advertising information on relevant online platforms, the operation of intermediary agencies, and rights protection complaint information, and checked the whereabouts of funds and the authenticity of contract documents, and gradually sorted out that a labor agency headed by Jiang was a major suspect in the crime." Ke Jia, head of the Anti-Fraud Center of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Baoshan Public Security Bureau, said that with the support of local police, Baoshan police smashed the fraud gang in the local area on March 6, arrested 22 suspects, seized more than 20 mobile phones involved in the case, and the amount involved was more than 3 million yuan.
After investigation, it was found that the criminal suspect Jiang Mou, together with Cui Mou, Li Mou and others, established two labor intermediary agencies. Without the qualifications for overseas labor dispatch, they recruited employees and carried out work according to the division of labor, training and other divisions of "traffic diversion group, customer service group, interview group, etc." Among them, the traffic diversion group posted advertisements for overseas recruitment agencies that provided free consultation on major social networking sites and short video platforms to attract job seekers who intended to work abroad; then, the customer service group promised to provide high-paying construction workers, waiters, nannies and other low-threshold positions according to the established "talking skills", and fabricated successful employment cases to gradually lure victims to pay registration fees, handling fees, and visa fees; the interview group was responsible for pretending to be an overseas employer and conducting so-called online interviews with the victims to further consolidate the trust of job seekers and delay the processing progress.
The criminal suspect Jiang also confessed that for job seekers who are anxious to go abroad to work, gang members will first apply for tourist visas for them to stabilize the job seekers, and then use the lengthy process of applying for work visas and fierce competition for positions as reasons to further deceive job seekers into paying expedited fees, service fees, etc., thereby committing "secondary fraud" until the victim notices something unusual and "blocks them and runs away."
At present, six suspects including Jiang Mou have been criminally detained by Baoshan police in accordance with the law on suspicion of fraud. The remaining 16 people have been taken criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law, and the case is under further trial.
In another "overseas recruitment" case, Baoshan police also found that a "multinational company" had forged qualifications.
In March this year, Mr. Liang, who lives in Baoshan, reported to the police that he had been engaged in carpentry work for a long time. He heard that working abroad had high incomes, so he searched for overseas job information on multiple search websites and added a senior "agent" as a friend. However, he invested nearly 30,000 yuan and waited for half a year but was unable to make the trip.
After receiving the report, the police from the Anti-Fraud Center of the Criminal Investigation Brigade found that Mr. Liang had obtained the so-called "overseas labor position" directly through an "online video interview" without submitting any academic qualifications or skill certificates. After paying 28,800 yuan in visa fees, lawyer fees, transportation fees, and service fees and signing a work contract, the agency issued a preliminary qualification review and job matching tables for multiple countries, but the agency always delayed the processing with reasons such as "incomplete materials" and "no suitable positions". The police investigation found that there were many complaints about the company on consumer rights protection platforms and Internet complaint platforms.
Upon investigation, it was found that the company did not have the relevant qualifications for overseas labor dispatch, and the flight itinerary, lawyer service fees and labor skills training fees issued were all forged, and the contracts signed with foreign partner companies did not have the signature and seal of Party A. On April 18, with the strong support of foreign police, Baoshan police successfully uncovered a "foreign recruitment" fraud gang set up in a local office building and arrested 72 criminal suspects.
The office is located in the office building, with seemingly complete certificates and licenses hanging on the wall.
According to the confession of the criminal suspect Tong, he colluded with others to establish the Exit and Entry Service Co., Ltd. in 2023, and placed labor agency advertisements on search websites, portal websites, etc. for promotion. He lied to customers who came to consult that he could provide global visa processing and labor export, including "low threshold, high salary, and no language threshold" jobs such as chefs, nurses, and beautics. He also forged preliminary qualification review forms and job matching forms to deceive the victims' trust, used fraudulent rhetoric to trick the victims into paying high "one-stop" agency fees, and delayed by using rhetoric such as "Spring Festival holiday", "tsunami abroad", and "job shortage".
In fact, the gang cancelled the company within the promised processing period, blocked job seekers who had paid, dismissed customer service staff, and only kept key members above the level of team leader to re-register the company and continue the fraud. By the time the case was discovered, Tong and others had registered three similar companies, involving a total amount of more than 4 million yuan.
At present, 14 core members including the criminal suspect Tong Mou have been criminally detained by Baoshan police in accordance with the law on suspicion of fraud. The remaining 58 criminal suspects have been taken other criminal compulsory measures in accordance with the law, and the case is under further trial.
Li Guoping, political commissar of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Baoshan Branch of Shanghai Public Security Bureau, said that the fraudulent methods of such cases have something in common. First, the fraud gangs often use good working environment, high income, fast processing, low threshold, etc. as bait to attract job seekers to add customer service to consult privately. When job seekers express their interest, the customer service team will conduct personalized induction and persuasion strategies according to the background and needs of different job seekers, so as to enhance the "attractiveness" of the position.
In terms of processing fees, customer service will first charge a registration fee of one to two thousand yuan. After the job seekers visit the company or read relevant materials to gain trust, they will sign a contract and charge tens of thousands of yuan in service fees. After that, they will provide the job seekers with fake employer invitation letters, qualification preliminary review forms, job matching forms and other seemingly formal paper materials, and even real tourist visas, to deceive the victims' trust. Finally, the fraud gangs will use delaying rhetoric to continuously extend the processing period, buying time and space to carry out fraud.
How can job seekers avoid falling into the trap of "overseas recruitment"? Shanghai police suggest that for overseas recruitment information, job seekers can check whether the relevant dispatch company is included in the "National Foreign Labor Cooperation Enterprise Directory" through the official website of the Ministry of Commerce. The formality of the company cannot be confirmed by the form information provided by the other party. At the same time, there are differences in labor dispatch policies in various countries. Specific job search policies can be verified through the embassy or official website of the relevant country. It should be reminded that any tourist visa cannot be equivalent to an overseas labor visa. Job seekers need to distinguish the visa type to avoid being deceived.
