The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has warned members of the public to be on alert for a fraudulent email purporting to be from a number of high profile banks that is trying to trick people into giving away their personal details.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has warned members of the public to be on alert for a fraudulent email purporting to be from a number of high profile banks that is trying to trick people into giving away their personal details.

The Hong Kong regulator said in a statement that the email requests customers to use an embedded hyperlink to connect to a fraudulent website and provide their personal information such as the Hong Kong identity card number and credit card information that can then be used to access their accounts.  

The banks in question include Bank of China, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank. All the banks concerns have clarified that they have not sent these emails to their customers and have no connection with the fraudulent websites, the regulator said.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has advised anyone who has provided their personal information to the websites, or has conducted any financial transactions through the websites, to contact their bank and the police.

“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,” said a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

“In addition, banks are not expected to send e-mails asking their customers to provide their account information or verify their account information online.  If in doubt, they should contact their banks,” the spokesperson added.