Beware of Phone Scammers Impersonating Staff of Immigration Department

2023-09-20

Defrauding Tricks

Recently, there are scammers impersonating officers of the Immigration Department (ImmD) to make calls to members of the public. During the conversation, the scammers offered call recipients the names, titles, contact means, office addresses, etc. of serving immigration officers for identity verification by visits to the concerned offices in person or by phone with a view to adding credibility to the scams.

The ImmD said that its staff would call members of the public to process their applications with the ImmD based on individual circumstances. On the other hand, the ImmD reminded the public that the department would not make any pre-recorded voice calls to members of the public who had not opted for its appointment reminder service, nor would it transfer the calls to non-local authorities and then request the call recipients to provide personal information.

Our Advice

• Members of the public must remain vigilant and cautious when receiving suspicious calls, and take the initiative to verify the identities of the callers instead of believing the callers hastily, or disclosing personal information arbitrarily, including identity card numbers, bank account numbers and passwords; 

• If in any doubt, please contact officers of the ImmD by calling the ImmD’s enquiry hotline on 2824 6111 or sending an email to enquiry@immd.gov.hk;

• Do not believe scammers or remit money to any accounts;

• Remind your relatives and friends to stay alert against deception;

• If in doubt, please call the “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” for enquiries.