Beware of Investment Plans Purportedly Recommended by Officers of Government or Statutory Bodies

2024-01-26

Defrauding Tricks

Recently, a video about investment plans purportedly recommended by government officials has been circulating online with an attempt to deceive members of the public into believing and investing in such plans. Apart from that, there are scammers, impersonating senior staff members of the Security and Futures Commission (SFC), sending instant text messages which contain investment advice to the public. Relevant department and institution sternly clarified that the video and messages concerned are fictitious (the Government’s press release and the SFC’s press release).

Our Advice

• You can verify the authenticity of videos by observing if the person’s eyes, mouth or light, etc. look unnatural or by zooming in the clips to see if there is any blur or trace of editing;

• During a video call, you can ask the person to make certain movements in front of the camera, such as turning their head up, down, left or right, or slowly moving a finger across their face, then observe whether there is any abnormality of the person’s image on the screen. There will likely be abnormalities such as a blurred finger or facial features as the computer needs to re-calculate the movements according to the unexpected instructions;

• Do not log on to any suspicious websites or download any attachments by hastily clicking on any hyperlinks;

• Do not input your personal information, credit card details, 3-digit security codes and one-time passwords into unknown applications or websites;

• Enter the suspicious URL on “Scameter” or “Scameter+”, the mobile application of “Scameter”, to assess the risk of fraud and cyber security in addition to seeking verification from relevant organisations;

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

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