The privacy watchdog on Friday urged workers to verify the identity of recruiters and intermediaries when they come across job-vacancy advertisements online.

This came as the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data received 42 complaints from construction workers in the past two weeks who had shared personal information with fraudsters posing as recruiters on social media platforms.

The scammers ghosted them after requesting them to gather at designated locations, leaving the workers concerned that their personal details might be maliciously used for illegal purposes.

Speaking on RTHK, Assistant Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (complaints and criminal investigation) Rebecca Ho noted that the office received 43 complaints as of the middle of January, a drastic increase when compared to six in 2024 and 22 last year.

She said that the recruitment messages usually targeted casual workers.

"Before employing workers, or interviewing them, in particular casual workers, recruiters have already asked for a lot of personal information, such as an ID card copy, bank account information, etc," Ho said.

"We understand that casual workers get paid in cash. In that case, is there a need for recruiters to get workers’ bank account information?"

She went on to say that alleged scammers also asked applicants for photocopies of their Construction Workers Registration Cards and safety training certificates.

The two documents, along with ID cards, are only needed for registration when workers enter a construction site, Ho said, questioning the need for anyone to get hold of the information that early.

She called on workers to verify the identity of recruiters through various ways, including by communicating with people in the same sector or pushing the recruiters for more information instead of solely focusing on securing a job offer as quickly as possible.

None of the complainants have suffered any monetary losses so far, Ho added, but noted that fraudsters could sell their personal details or make use of them to apply for loans.