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Five Dodgy Features of Fake SMSs/Emails about Water Bills Names with “WSD” or “GOV” Don’t Imply Authenticity
2026-03-12

Five Dodgy Features of Fake SMSs/Emails about Water Bills Names with “WSD” or “GOV” Don’t Imply Authenticity

Fake water bills/demand notes appear continuously.  New victims include company directors.  The ADCC urges members of the public to stay vigilant.  Sender names with “WSD” or “GOV” do not imply authenticity. Remember the following three points:

  • The SMS sender ID of the Water Supplies Department (WSD) must have prefix “#” (#WSD and #WSD eWater);

  • The WSD will never lead its customers to other websites or ask them for their credit card information through the hyperlinks in emails or SMSs.

  • All WSD’s emails to customers about electronic bills are sent by customer_services@wsd.gov.hk or ccbs_no_reply@ccbs.wsd.gov.hk.

 

Five Characteristics of Fake Water Bills

1.Characteristics of SMS or email senders (dodgiest!)

Scammers imitate WSD’s sender names, using those with “WSD”, “GOV”, etc.  For example:

  • WSDDUHK

  • WSDGT HK

  • WSDPP HK

The sender IDs of fake SMSs do not have prefix “#”, while those of official SMSs must have it (e.g. #WSD and #WSD eWater) to prove that the senders have joined the SMS Sender Registration Scheme.

The email addresses are fake (The WSD uses customer_services@wsd.gov.hk or ccbs_no_reply@ccbs.wsd.gov.hk only).

 

2.Minimal amounts seeming to be reasonable

In most cases, only several or a few dozen dollars (e.g. HK$18.54, $28.26) are claimed to be overdue, so people drop their guard easily and clink on the hyperlinks.

 

3.Offensive wording

Offensive wording such as “overdue water charge”, “supply shuts down soon” and “fine” is used.

 

4.Characteristics of URLs

The URL of WSD’s official website is www.wsd.gov.hk, so scammers use fake URLs similar to the official one.  For example:

  • wsdgov[.]com

  • wsd.govi[.]qpon/hk

 

5.Payment demand

Directly ask for credit card information and authentication codes on suspicious websites.

 

A Recent Case

A 69-year-old male director checked emails as usual, then found a suspicious one (address: w6wq5711c@telenet.be) with subject “WSD Customer Service” claiming that a water charge of $18.54 had been overdue.  Having no suspicions, he clicked on a hyperlink in the email, visited a website posing as WSD’s one and entered credit card information.  His bank informed him soon that around $23,000 had been deducted from his account.  He discovered this irregularity, then made a report to the police immediately.