Official Statement on Job Scams

Ambition Hong Kong would like to alert our community to the continued rise in scam activity involving individuals impersonating recruitment consultants, including our own employees. These impersonators often lure jobseekers with promises of high-paying roles or side-income opportunities, and typically operate via LinkedIn, Telegram, WhatsApp, and other messaging platforms. To appear credible, they may use stolen logos or images, employee photos, fake business cards, or fraudulent social media accounts.

New Scam Alert: “CV Formatting Fees”

A new scam has recently emerged on LinkedIn, where scammers impersonate recruiters from well-known agencies. They often share legitimate job postings to appear credible and create urgency. After a jobseeker expresses interest, the scammer requests a CV—then claims it’s “not up to standard”.

Victims are then directed to a third-party email or platform and asked to pay a small fee to “reformat” the CV. In several cases, these so-called recruiters had little to no LinkedIn presence, suspicious job histories, and minimal digital footprints.

Reminder of Common Scam Tactics

Victims are often asked to share sensitive information such as Hong Kong ID numbers or phone numbers, and in more severe cases, to make payments via bank transfer, FPS, or PayMe.

Please note: Ambition Hong Kong and Ambition Group are not affiliated with any individuals soliciting payments or personal data under false pretences.

We strongly encourage you to exercise caution with any unsolicited communications about job opportunities and to always verify their authenticity before sharing personal information. To stay safe during your job search, consider the following precautions:

• Double-check the recruiter’s identity by looking at their profile on the company's official website or verifying their credentials through trusted company channels, such as their business email or phone number. Look for a credible employment history and network of connections, be cautious if their profile is new, inactive, or missing a professional photo.

• Do not respond to suspicious text messages or calls from unknown numbers.

• Never transfer money to someone you have not met or verified.

• Do not interact with or open any attachments or links within suspicious emails or messages.

• Do not share personal or sensitive details such as bank accounts, credit cards, HKID number, or phone numbers.

Ambition’s Verified Recruitment Practices:

1) Verified email address

All email communication from Ambition will be sent from our official email domains. These are:

• Australia - ambition.com.au, accountability.com.au, watermarksearch.com.au

• Hong Kong - ambition.com.hk, ambtech.com

• India - ambition.com.in

• Malaysia - ambition.com.my

• Singapore - ambition.com.sg

• UK - ambition.co.uk

• US - ambitionsearch.com

2) Formal interview process

While Ambition’s recruiters may reach out proactively about job opportunities, we never issue job offers without a formal interview process. Any formal job offers presented by Ambition employees will be sent from our official email domains (e.g. @ambition.com.hk).

3) No requests for payments from jobseekers

Ambition will never ask for any form of payment as part of the recruitment process – this includes service fees, visa or background check costs, or any other charges.

4) Never share confidential personal information or documents without verifying the request and recipient

Ambition will never ask for your credit card or bank account details as part of our recruitment process. Please be cautious if you are requested to do so. However, in Hong Kong, our recruitment consultants will ask for your identification or passport number and obtain your consent to present your profile to companies. This is part of regulatory requirements by the Hong Kong Labour Department. For more information on this regulation, you can visit the Labour Department’s website.

To verify the legitimacy of a message, email, or phone call from someone claiming to be with Ambition Hong Kong, please contact us directly at +852 3103 4300. Avoid clicking on any links or continuing the conversation until you have confirmed the source. For more details, please refer to Ambition’s data protection and privacy policy.

If you believe you have been targeted or have received a suspicious message, please file a report with the Hong Kong Anti-Deception Coordination Centre.

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Update: This blog was revised to reflect the latest insights as of June 2025.