Hong Kong police are warning of a new scam that stole over $22 million (HKD) from victims in just a week.

Click Farm scams are a new variant of task scams but far more devious. Typical task scams have victims clicking on links endlessly for commissions while this new scam fools victims into using their money to buy online items or make deposits.

Victims Are Recruited To Boost Sales Of Products

According to the SCMP, scammers recruit victims with job offers that initially appear to be quite lucrative. Victims are instructed to register for sites online and buy products with their own money. After they complete those tasks, they are paid handsomely with commissions.

“Scammers then persuaded them to do more ‘click farming’ tasks or asked them to register on fake websites and make deposits. Once swindlers obtained the money, they disappeared.”

In one case, a 52-year-old woman became a victim after she responded to a “job offer” sent to her through a WhatsApp message. She eventually lost over $1.8 million (HKD) on the scam – about $24,000.

This type of click farm scam has already registered over 1,447 cases in the first half of this year, with over $334 million HKD in losses.

Police Want People To Use Scameter Took To Identify Scams

Police warned people looking for jobs in Hong Kong to be wary of ads that offered “high commissions” or “work-from-home” arrangements but did not require any qualifications or education to be hired.

“All you need is a smartphone to make quick money,” scammers typically advertised in their fake online job offers, according to the force.

Police advised residents there to use their Scameter search engine, accessible through the CyberDefender website or app, to check for suspicious or fraudulent schemes.

The search engine contains information that can help the public identify suspicious web addresses, emails, platform usernames, bank accounts, mobile phone numbers and, IP addresses.