An e-mail linking to a fraudulent website

Press Releases

13 Sep 2004

An e-mail linking to a fraudulent website

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public in Hong Kong to an e-mail purporting to be sent from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC). The e-mail requests customers to use an embedded hyperlink (for example, http://221.144.12.117/.a/h-hk/online.php) to connect to a fraudulent website and verify their account information by entering their Internet banking account's user name and password. The fraudulent website looks very similar to HSBC's Personal Internet Banking logon webpage. HSBC has issued a press release today to clarify that HSBC has not sent these e-mails to its customers and has no connection with the fraudulent website. In addition, HSBC will never send e-mails asking its customers to provide their passwords or verify their account information online.

HSBC has already reported the case to the Hong Kong Police Force for investigation. Anyone who has dealings with this fraudulent website, or has provided his or her personal information to the website, or has conducted any financial transactions through the website should contact HSBC at 2748 3322, and any local Police Station or the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force at 2860 5012.

"Members of the public are reminded not to access their Internet banking accounts through hyperlinks embedded in e-mails or Internet search engines. They should access their Internet banking accounts by keying in the website addresses at the address bar of the browser, or bookmark the genuine website and use that function to access their Internet banking accounts. If in doubt, they should contact their banks," said an HKMA spokesperson.

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
13 September 2004

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Last revision date : 13 September 2004