Staying alert

A duty officer with the police force's public relations office refused to comment on Chan's case when contacted by China Daily, saying only that all complaints are assessed on their own merits.

"We will conduct investigations when necessary to interdict this type of fraud and instigate prosecutions when there is sufficient evidence," he said.

During a 2008 interview with Radio Television Hong Kong, Carmen Man, a senior police inspector, said: "We focus on cases involving criminality. If those cases involve only questionable sales techniques, (complainants need to go) to the Consumer Council, that we work with closely."

However, after being deceived into parting with the cash, victims find it almost impossible to get it back from talent companies, explained Christina Wong, a spokesman for the Consumer Council.

Chan was lucky. By getting in touch with 20 other victims through the Internet, and enlisting the help of Lee Cheuk-yan, a legislative councilor and general secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, she received two-thirds of her money back from Space 2 (it is believed the company is now running under a new name).

Shortly after being scammed, Chan established a Yahoo blog to prevent others from making the same mistake. So far, the site has attracted almost 100,000 visitors, and Chan said she receives e-mails from victims every two or three days.

Although there is a widely held belief that most modeling company frauds happen in the summer, the police PR officer said records do not indicate any peak time, and urged young people to be vigilant at all times. "The fraudsters never take a break," agreed Chan.

Officials with both the police and Consumer Council hold regular meetings to exchange intelligence and explore better ways to target unscrupulous modeling agencies.

"In the meantime, we advise people to be cautious and not to go alone to an agency's office," said the police spokesman. "More importantly, never pay up front for anything they offer."