DETERMINED TO MEET her savings goal of putting her children through university, Angela, 42, had spent the past eight years away from her family in the Philippines, working as a migrant domestic worker (MDW) in Hong Kong. 

One evening, her phone lit up with an SMS from sender “HK ImmD”. Opening the message, her face quickly changed from confusion to horror, reading that her recent visa renewal application was facing a critical issue, one that could only be recitifed through the immediate payment of a “verification fee” via a provided link. Failure to pay, it claimed, would result in “immediate deportation.”

“The message looked so real. It used official words and came straight to my phone, where I regularly received messages from my employment agency and bank,” Angela recalls. “My whole body went cold. All I could think about was deportation, a broken contract, and my children’s future gone.” 

Alone in her employer’s home, Angela clicked the link, leading her to a professional-looking government payment portal. Trembling, she entered her bank details and transferred HK$8,000 as requested – nearly two months’ salary.

The message looked so real. It used official words and came straight to my phone, where I regularly received messages from my employment agency and bank

Angela

Seconds later, the confirmation page refreshed with an error. The link was dead. The sender, a fake number, did not respond. “The silence was the worst part,” she says. “I felt so stupid. I just cried, thinking of the months of hard work that vanished in an instant because of one text message.”

Angela’s story is frighteningly common. “Smishing” campaigns impersonate immigration authorities, banks, courier services, and even employers. Others involve fake messages about lottery winnings, urgent loan offers, or pleas for help that appear to come from family back home. The intimate, direct nature of a text makes the fear of legal trouble or a family emergency feel intensely real.

But don’t get reeled in – never click on unknown links or transfer money to unknown sources. Hong Kong government departments will never demand urgent payments via an SMS link, so even if something looks real, take your time to stop, think, and verify.

For Angela, sharing her story became part of her healing, using her experience to warn others in the migrant community about the dangers of scams. “I tell my friends, ‘All it took was a simple text message to turn my life upside down in an instant. So please, slow down, take your time, and ask for help if you need it.’

“That message may have taken my money, but I won’t let it take my voice.”