More efforts are needed to educate and teach the public about internet fraud. The public is also advised to be more alert to online fraud which is currently rampant in Hong Kong and the world.
This was conveyed by the Head of Hong Kong Police, Police Commissioner Raymond Siu, last weekend.
A surge in fraud was cited as a key factor in a 29 percent increase in crime last year, which was announced this week. Siu said more than HK$9 billion was lost to fraud last year. 70 percent of cases are online fraud.
Speaking on the RTHK program, he appealed to the public to be careful online, as money lost due to fraud is difficult to trace. “We have some tools that are free to use, but the most important question is whether they will use them or not. One such tool is the anti-fraud helpline 18222. We noted that 37 percent more people called this number last year, which is around 50.000 more people. But in our opinion it is still not enough," he said.
“We increased the number of staff working on the hotline last year. I hope people will take full advantage of it. Even if you only have a small suspicion, make the call because it only takes one to two minutes of your time. You can prevent the loss of your savings," said Siu.
Siu also discussed a recent case in which an employee was conned into transferring HK$200 million after fraudsters used artificial intelligence to create so-called “deepfakes” against company officials for video conferencing.
The Police Chief reminded that fraudsters will continue to take advantage of technological advances and the public needs to be highly alert. “These fraudulent tactics are not impossible to solve. "When someone talks to you virtually, there are ways to check whether it's really someone you know," he said.
“You can ask them specific questions to find out whether it is real or fake. You can even move in front of the camera to check it out,” says Siu.
He added that the police were working with the banking industry and telecommunications companies to strengthen anti-fraud efforts. (Source: RTHK)
