Internet banking frauds involving Trojan Horse programmes

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to the form of Internet banking fraud, by which bank account information, including passwords, is stolen by fraudsters through the use of Trojan Horse programmes planted in personal computers. These programmes are inadvertently installed by victims when they visit certain dubious websites or open attachments to incoming e-mails from dubious sources. One form of Trojan Horse programme is able to capture keystrokes typed by the user and then transmit them covertly to the fraudster. This form of Internet banking fraud is growing worldwide, and a small number of cases have recently been detected in Hong Kong. These cases, which have not involved any financial loss to bank customers in Hong Kong so far, have been reported to the Hong Kong Police for investigation.

The HKMA takes this opportunity to remind bank customers that they should install personal firewall and anti-virus software in their personal computers. They should also avoid visiting, or downloading software from, suspicious websites, and be wary of opening attachments in e-mails from unfamiliar sources. Bank customers who discover any unauthorised transactions in their accounts should contact their banks immediately. Further information and advice on Internet banking safety can be found on the HKMA's website (www.hkma.gov.hk).

For further enquiries, please contact:
Jasmin Fung, Manager (Press), at 2878 8246 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
16 March 2005