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://217.59.162.171:87/h") 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 similar to the bank's Internet banking logon webpage.
HSBC has issued a press release today (16 February 2005) 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 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, 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
16 February 2005