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