Fraud Cases Involving Fake E-mails or Websites

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (Tuesday) re-circulated to all authorized institution (AIs) a circular issued on 20 May this year to reiterate the need for vigilance against potential fraud cases that make use of fake e-mails or websites to trick bank customers into revealing sensitive account information.

The HKMA would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that it is not usual for banks to request their customers to disclose their sensitive account information (such as PIN numbers and passwords for e-banking services) through e-mails. If members of the public receive such a request, they should contact their banks immediately. The public is also advised not to access Internet banking websites through hyperlinks embedded in e-mails unless they have verified the genuineness of the website such as by checking the correctness of the domain name and validity of the digital certificate of the website.

For further security tips on Internet banking, reference may be made to the leaflet "Internet Banking - Keeping Your Money Safe" issued by the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) which is available on the HKAB's website http://www.hkab.org.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
19 August 2003