Fraudulent pages impersonating FPS service providers promised cash rewards, sought banking details and steered users toward virtual wallet transactions as Hong Kong tightens cyber and crypto oversight.
Hong Kong Interbank Clearing said counterfeit websites posing as official Faster Payment System service providers are using fake “Buyer Online Security Protection” offers to collect sensitive personal and banking data from users. The sites ask for Hong Kong ID numbers, ID card photos, phone numbers, bank account details and account holder names under the guise of real-name verification, while promising cash rewards and directing victims to deposit or withdraw funds through virtual wallets using FPS. HKICL said the websites are not connected to its operations, stressed that it does not provide FPS services directly to individual members of the public, and urged users to verify suspicious approaches through its official websites or hotline and report suspected fraud to police. The warning comes as Hong Kong regulators step up cyber and digital-asset enforcement, including new SFC requirements for licensed virtual asset trading platforms and online brokers to replace SMS-based authentication with phishing-resistant methods within 12 months, and recent action against Aurum/Aurum Foundation.