Migrant workers warned anew against sharing their HKIDs for fee

 

The Philippine Consulate posted this warning against sharing one's HKID card only last June

Never share your Hong Kong ID card and other personal documents with anyone in exchange for money, no matter how tempting or seemingly harmless the offer, as it would most likely lead you to jail.

This warning, repeatedly made by the Philippine Consulate and by the Hong Kong Police over the years, is being brought to the fore again, after a group of Filipino domestic workers was again lured to sharing their HKIDs and work contracts in exchange for HK$1,000.

This information was shared with The SUN by one of its readers, a Filipina domestic worker who said her friend was taken somewhere in Tsuen Wan on Jan. 4 where her HKID and contract were copied, after which she was paid $1,000.

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This friend, in turn, sent her a chat message asking her if she was interested in doing the same thing, and offered to take her to the same place. The HKID and contract details were supposed to be used for registering with an Indonesian SIM card.

“Pero nag-alanganin ako kasi sa mga nababasa ko sa news ninyo about money laundering,” said R.Q., who sent out the alert about the new identity theft scam. (But I hesitated because of what I have been reading in your news reports about money laundering).

R.Q. relayed her concern to her friend, who instantly got alarmed and scared at the prospect that her personal information would be used by syndicates in opening a bank account in her name, and then use this to launder money.

Basahin ang detalye!

“Yan din nga ang sinabi ko sa kanya, bakit di nila naisip na bibigyan sila ng ganoon kalaki na halaga kapalit ng picture ng ID at kontrata nila,” said R.Q. (That’s exactly what I told her. They should have wondered why they’d be given that much money for merely sharing pictures of their HKID card and contract).

R.Q. was told to bring her friend to the Consulate as soon as possible so they can be helped in reporting the matter to the police, and possibly prevent the syndicate from using the friend’s identity to launder dirty money or commit another serious crime.

Just last June, an OFW was sentenced to 22 months in prison after $2.2 million was discovered to have passed through her accounts with two online banks. Despite the OFW’s claim that she merely lent her HKID card so she could be registered for an online game, the judge was not convinced.

Read the story here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/search?q=filipina+jailed+22+months

Tomorrow, Jan. 12, another Filipina found to have dealt with $8.8 million in her three bank accounts, the biggest amount ever linked to a foreign domestic worker in a money laundering case, is due to be sentenced at the High Court.

She failed to convince the judge that she did not know that her HKID card would be used to open the bank accounts through which the tainted money had passed.

She claimed the syndicate behind the crime had made her believe she was only registering her personal information for an online game. The story is here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/2025/12/district-court-finds-filipina-guilty-of.html