TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday (June 25) cautioned individuals against responding to fraudulent offers of work from Southeast Asia.

The warning came after a 19-year-old man from Changhua County reported missing in May was found to have left the country for Thailand two months earlier, per CNA. Police were unable to say whether he was being held against his will, or not.  

The grandmother of the teenager called Huang (黃) said that after his parents’ divorce, he had helped her sell porridge, getting up at 4 a.m. each day to prepare the food. She had funded his studies until the level of vocational school.

In early March, he told his grandmother that he planned to go out with friends. After he failed to return, she alerted police because she feared he had fallen victim to a scam.

The police investigation showed that Huang left Taiwan on March 4 on a regular flight to Thailand. Police said they would ask MOFA for assistance in locating the teenager, but at present, it was impossible to tell whether fraud ring was involved.

MOFA reminded travelers on its website Tuesday that with the summer holiday season and the graduation season imminent, scammers were likely to try and lure people to Southeast Asia with vague offers of high-paying jobs.