Stepping into September, the new school year begins, and young people's online social networking and online activities are becoming more active again. At the same time, a large number of mega events and events are held in the fourth quarter of each year, and it is the traditional peak season for tourism consumption, so the public is more likely to purchase relevant shopping and tickets through the Internet. According to the data, the fourth quarter is a period of frequent online fraud*, and the police have analysed the modus operandi of recent online fraud and cybercrime to help the public be more vigilant and strengthen prevention.
Phishing SMS and phishing websites
Fraudsters lure the public into phishing websites by casting a net to lure the public to access phishing websites and steal credit card information, social media platforms or messaging software accounts. Or buy ads to put phishing websites at the top of search engine results, so that the public can mistakenly log in to their accounts on fake websites and steal their accounts.
The modus operandi of such crimes is complex and diverse, and the public is very vulnerable to the slightest carelessness. First, phishing websites have a high degree of emulation and highly similar URLs; Second, fraudsters use technical means to change the sender's name, so that the mobile phone system mistakenly deposits the phishing SMS into the SMS inbox of a real organization, so that people can believe that it is true. In the first eight months of this year, 372 cases involving fraudulent credit card fraud were opened by the Divisional Police Bureau, representing a year-on-year increase of 72 per cent. During the same period, there were 25 cases of computer fraud involving theft of payment platform accounts.
The Police appeal to members of the public to stay vigilant when receiving any SMS with a link to a website, not to click on the link attached to the SMS, to verify through other official contact channels, or to use the anti-fraud app of the Police Bureau to assess the risk; If you receive a private message from a friend on a social media platform requesting a loan, you must contact me through other channels for inquiry. If the SMS contains urgent words such as "expired", "banned", "invalidated", etc., and the subsequent request for account or credit card information is highly likely, it is highly likely to be a scam.
Online ticket scams
In recent years, online shopping has become more prevalent, and many netizens have been deceived by fraudsters who have increased their exposure by setting up fake pages on social media platforms and buying advertisements, falsely claiming to be selling low-priced, scarce or trendy goods. In the first eight months of this year, 201 cases of online shopping fraud were opened by the Divisional Police Bureau, an increase of 19% year-on-year, with nearly 70% of tickets purchased online.
Many of the victims of online ticket fraud are teenagers who are eager to "chase stars", and the victims buy tickets at high prices from unofficial channels in order to witness idol performances. Recently, the police in neighbouring regions have uncovered a number of cases of counterfeit tickets derived from online ticket purchases, stealing credit card information using online ticket purchases, and even repeatedly defrauding the victims by falsely claiming that the transaction has failed, highlighting the huge security risks associated with ticket purchases on unofficial platforms.
The Police strongly appeal to the public, especially young people, to face up to the risks, avoid buying tickets from unofficial platforms or unauthorized channels, and not to believe in "internal channels" and "scalpers", and refuse the delivery method of "pay first, settle later".
Part-time scams
The fraudsters posted fake recruitment posts on social media platforms, and the victim was instructed to log in to the designated website to perform tasks such as "swiping orders" and "liking" after being "hired". In addition, the fraudsters will also send phishing links to the victim asking them to log in to the payment platform on the pretext of paying payment, thereby stealing the victim's account and deposit. In the first eight months of this year, there were 93 cases of fraudulent fraud, representing a year-on-year increase of 48%. Police urge caution to be cautious when applying for jobs online, as being asked to make advances, provide personal information or any account information is a fraud.
In addition to the above three types of frequent online frauds, there are still many online crimes such as text messages, forced investment groups, celebrities pointing out stock market trends, strangers of the opposite sex leaving messages asking for friends, and netizens offering to help and naked chats, etc., and the cyber crimes derived from them are still common. In addition, telephone scams of all kinds, especially those involving impersonation of government officials, remain frequent, and the public must not relax their vigilance against them.
In addition to continuously strengthening various existing measures, the Division Police Bureau has implemented a number of key anti-fraud measures in recent months, including: the full implementation of the "Campus Anti-Fraud Vaccine Program", a number of colleges and universities have planned to incorporate anti-fraud elements into their curricula, and the first batch of "anti-fraud ambassadors" of colleges and universities have taken office and assisted in anti-fraud work in the same group; By the end of August, more than 36,000 uses of the SPPD's anti-fraud app had been used to effectively assist the public in identifying deception cases.
Divisional Police Bureau and the Education Sector Join Hands to Promote "School Anti-Deception Vaccination Programme"
The Judicial Police Bureau sent officers to participate in the "Anti-Deception Police Signal Week" organised by the Macao Polytechnic University
The Judicial Police Bureau, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the banking industry jointly organise an "Anti-Fraud Work Exchange Session"
Prevention and control of fraud. The police's anti-fraud work is inseparable from the public's participation and cooperation in order to achieve the expected results. Under the current severe situation of fraud crimes, members of the public should pay close attention to anti-fraud information, enhance their prevention capabilities, use anti-fraud programs to verify the situation when in case of suspicion, and immediately call the anti-fraud hotline 8800 7777 for help, so as to effectively assume the primary responsibility for protecting their own property.
The Education and Youth Development Bureau (EDB) and the Divisional Police Force (PCPF) organised a "Law-abiding and Anti-Scam Seminar" to continuously enhance the anti-deception awareness of senior secondary school graduates.
The Divisional Police Bureau organises a seminar on anti-deception for teaching staff
*From 2020 to 2023, the number of online fraud cases was higher in the fourth quarter of each year, except for 2022, which was higher than that of the rest of the quarters.
Source: Office of the Secretary for Security