HKMA reminds the public to protect sensitive personal information

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has recently received reports from banks and credit card operators that some members of the public had suffered from monetary losses after contacting companies promoting investment products through advertisements on social media. They were subsequently requested to disclose their personal information (including credit card information and one-time passwords) through the internet or phone calls, thus leading to their losses.

The HKMA understands that the relevant parties have reported the cases to the Police. The HKMA urges the public to stay alert and protect their personal information, particularly credit card information and passwords which should not be disclosed to third parties, so as to avoid falling for scams and suffering from monetary losses. While the advertisements concerned have already been removed, the public should remain vigilant of such method of obtaining sensitive personal information.

Anyone who might have provided any sensitive personal information (particularly credit card information) to suspicious third-parties should immediately contact the card-issuing banks and the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force (at 18222).

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
10 September 2019