Scams target Disney fans and job seekers

Visitors take photos at the Shanghai Disney Resort during a pre-opening event. [Photo/Xinhua]

A number of scams have surfaced as opening day for the Shanghai Disney Resort nears.

Media reports in the city said a fake website mimicking the resort hotel site had ranked among the top search results.

But when a reporter called the website number to reserve a room, she was asked for her credit card details, including the three-digit security number, and her mobile phone and ID numbers, according to kankannews.com.

Experts warned consumers not to reveal such key information as the security number.

The Shanghai park, the first Disney theme park on the Chinese mainland and the third in Asia after Tokyo and Hong Kong, is due to open on June 16.

In the past two months, at least 200 people claiming they could provide job opportunities at the park have been exposed by police.

In April, police arrested three suspected gang leaders alleged to have conned more than 3 million yuan ($460,000) out of 30-plus victims by promising them jobs at the Shanghai Disneyland park.

A taxi driver surnamed Li was the first to report the scam to police.

He said he saw a recruitment advertisement and dialed the number. He was promised a managerial position at the park, quit his job and paid 13,000 yuan as a fee, but the job turned out to be a cleaner’s position.

After discovering that his colleagues had found jobs at the park by sending their CVs direct to Disney and not paying any fees, he reported the case to police.

Mi Yangjun, a police information officer, said one of the suspects, surnamed Xu, who once worked for an employment agency, told police she believed she could make big money by pretending to offer job opportunities at Disneyland.

In May, a wealth investment product promising an annual yield of 10 percent was issued by Shanghai Guozhou Financial Information Service Co, which said the funds would be used to develop and operate the Shanghai Disney Resort.

However, the product was withdrawn by the local financial market watchdog due to false advertising.