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
Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK). The e-mail requests
customers to use an embedded hyperlink (for example,
www.bankofchina.com.hk/update) 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. BOCHK
has issued a press release today (5 January 2007) to clarify that
BOCHK has not sent these e-mails to its customers and has no
connection with the fraudulent website. In addition, BOCHK does not
send e-mails asking its customers to provide their passwords or
verify their account information online.

BOCHK 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 BOCHK at 2332 3328
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:
Hing-fung Wong, Officer (Press), at 2878 1802 or
Thomas Chan, Senior Manager (Press), at 2878 1480

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
5 January 2007