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://207.150.192.12/temp/wwwuga/d.html) 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 (22
November) to clarify that HSBC has not sent these e-mails to its
customers and has no connection with the fraudulent website. In
addition, HSBC does not have the policy of sending 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 provided 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, Internet
search engines or suspicious pop-up windows. Instead, they should
access their Internet banking accounts by typing the website
addresses at the address bar of the browser, or by bookmarking the
genuine website and using that for access. If in doubt, they should
contact their banks," said an HKMA spokesperson.

For further enquiries, please contact:
Kevin Ip, Manager (Press), at 2878 1687 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
22 November 2004