Hong Kong sees sharp rise in phishing scams, as victims reveal personal data after receiving ‘SMS from the bank’
- Cathay flight attendant who lost HK$83,000 from HSBC account hopes to get her money back
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority warns public to beware of hyperlinks in messages apparently sent by banks
Cathay Pacific flight attendant Irish Geronimo, 29, was panic-stricken when her bank sent a text message saying about HK$83,000 (US$10,640) of her hard-earned savings had been transferred to a stranger.
The bad news arrived hours after she clicked on an embedded hyperlink in a text message which appeared to be from her bank, HSBC, but was actually sent by a scammer.
She realised she had fallen victim to a phishing scam. “I am still traumatised,” she said. “At that time I didn’t know what to do.”
Geronimo, a Hong Kong resident from the Philippines, is among those tricked by phishing – when scammers get people to provide personal data which is then used to steal from their bank accounts.
According to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, 111 bank customers lost a total of HK$22 million in the first half of 2021, compared with no cases last year.
As of June 18, police had received 51 reports about phishing scams involving fraudulent bank websites resulting in losses of HK$10 million. In the largest single case, the victim lost HK$880,000.