Hong Kong Monetary Authority Expands Suspicious Account Alert System Amid Rising Fraud Risks

The
Hong
Kong
Monetary
Authority
(HKMA),
in
collaboration
with
the
Hong
Kong
Police
Force
and
the
Hong
Kong
Association
of
Banks
(HKAB),
has
announced
a
significant
expansion
of
its
Suspicious
Account
Alert
system.
The
initiative,
set
to
begin
on
August
4,
2024,
will
now
encompass
both
internet
banking
and
physical
branch
transactions,
according
to
the

Hong
Kong
Monetary
Authority.

Broader
Coverage
for
Enhanced
Protection

Initially
launched
in
November
2023,
the
Suspicious
Account
Alert
system
was
designed
to
warn
customers
about
high-risk
fraud
scenarios
based
on
data
from
the
Police’s
Scameter,
a
scam
and
pitfall
search
engine.
The
initial
phase
covered
fund
transfers
using
the
Faster
Payment
System
(FPS)
proxy
IDs,
including
mobile
numbers,
email
addresses,
and
FPS
Identifiers
(FPS
ID).
By
the
end
of
June
2024,
more
than
655,000
alerts
had
been
issued,
averaging
3,000
alerts
per
day.

With
the
new
expansion,
the
alert
system
will
now
include
retail
customers’
fund
transfers
conducted
at
bank
counters,
as
well
as
online
fund
transfers
within
the
same
bank
or
inter-bank/SVF
transactions
using
account
numbers.
Customers
will
receive
warnings
if
the
payee’s
account
number,
mobile
number,
email
address,
or
FPS
Identifier
is
flagged
as
“High
Risk”
in
Scameter,
regardless
of
the
transaction
method.

Additional
Anti-Fraud
Initiatives

In
addition
to
expanding
the
alert
system,
HKMA
introduced
two
new
initiatives
aimed
at
further
protecting
bank
customers.
The
first
is
the
“Scameter+”
mobile
application,
which
will
provide
timely
alerts
about
fraudulent
bank
websites
or
phone
numbers.
The
second
initiative
involves
enhancing
the
security
of
online
credit
card
transactions
by
requiring
authentication
via
banks’
mobile
banking
applications
instead
of
SMS
one-time
passwords,
in
response
to
evolving
malware
threats.

HKMA
is
urging
the
public
to
verify
payment
details
and
the
payee’s
identity
before
proceeding
with
transactions.
The
authority
advises
the
public
to:

• Refer
  to
  HKMA’s
  registers
  of
  authorized
  institutions
  and
  SVF
  licensees,
  and
  use
  the
  Police’s
  anti-fraud
  resources
  including
  the
  “Scameter+”
  mobile
  application
  and
  Anti-Scam
  Helpline
  18222.
• Download
  or
  upgrade
  mobile
  applications
  only
  from
  official
  app
  stores
  or
  websites.
• Beware
  of
  fraudulent
  links.
• Always
  protect
  personal
  information.

Continued
Efforts
Against
Digital
Fraud

HKMA,
in
collaboration
with
the
Police
and
the
banking
industry,
remains
committed
to
raising
public
awareness
and
combating
digital
frauds.
The
measures
announced
are
part
of
ongoing
efforts
to
protect
customers
from
the
growing
threat
of
digital
fraud,
including
malware
scams.

For
more
information,
visit
the

Hong
Kong
Monetary
Authority
website.

Image
source:
Shutterstock