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