Both HSBC and The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) have issued alerts to members of the public urging them to stay vigilant against a recent deluge of bogus voice messages and emails.
Over the past two weeks, the HKMA and some banks (including The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited and Hang Seng Bank Limited) have received a total of almost 2,000 enquiries from members of the public or bank customers concerning suspicious phone calls.
The messages asked them to input their personal information or contact the operator for account authentication.
Ironically the incoming call display has been showing the same phone number as an enquiry hotline of the HKMA.
An email has also been targeting unwary clients of the main banks. The e-mail requests customers to use an embedded hyperlink to connect to a fraudulent website,
The HKMA has asked the Hong Kong Association of Banks to remind its member banks to be vigilant and take appropriate actions and to help raise awareness of the general public about these calls.
