Combat Financial Crimes

Fraudster may pose themselves as staff of CCB (Asia) or another financial institution, and contact you through phone call, SMS, email, promotion materials or message from messaging app by using fraudulent tactics (for example, offering attractive low interest rates) to induce you to provide personal information such as ID card copies, payroll slips, proofs of address and bank statements to them for applying banking products including personal loans or credit cards. Meanwhile, fraudsters also ask you to make deposits into designated account(s) as margin or service fee.

Fraudsters may claim unusual transaction record is identified in your bank account / credit card through pre-recorded message phone call, and then request you to provide them personal information such as account number, username and log-on password for “investigation”.

The below hints may help to spot bogus calls:

• “Caller ID” includes a ‘+’ sign, which indicates the call is coming from outside of Hong Kong
• Voice quality is relatively bad as if it is a long-distance call
• The caller says there are irregularities with your bank or credit card account
• The caller refuses to provide a department name or is unwilling to provide a call-back number
• The caller focuses on products such as credit products or services with a low interest rate, such as personal loan, add on mortgage, re-mortgage
• The caller tries to close the sale as quickly as possible and is impatient to discuss the product or service in detail
• Be particularly cautious when a caller asks for sensitive personal information such as your banking password

Security Tips

CCBA remind you, we will never call you or email you asking sensitive personal information including your e-Banking username and log-in password.

• If you are in doubt of the received call or message, write down the identity of the caller / sender and their phone number, then call our Bogus Call Hotline (852) 3179 5504 and provide the aforementioned information to verify the identity of the caller
• Never disclose any sensitive personal data (e.g. log-in password or one-time password) to caller in any circumstances
• Do not provide caller the full set of personal data item (such as identity card number) per their request. Financial institution staff usually provide partial of the requested personal data they have in the identity verification process
• Never make deposit into account of an individual or a company in the application process of our banking products
• If you suspect that you have fallen prey to a scam, please report the case to the Hong Kong Police immediately

Criminal syndicates would offer quick money or various advantages via telemarketing or social media platforms to lure you into disclosing personal credentials, or selling or lending your bank accounts. Upon controlling your bank accounts, they may use these "stooge accounts" to receive/ launder fraudulent payments or other crime proceeds

Selling or lending your bank accounts to others for unlawful purposes may expose yourselves to the risk of committing “money laundering offence” of which the maximum penalty is a fine of HK$5 million and imprisonment for 14 years

If you identify any suspicious activities, please contact bank or the police immediately

In this type of scam, scammers have been impersonating investment specialists and inviting members of the public to join their investment classroom groups through SMS messages and instant messaging applications. They offer inside information, low risk and high return as bait. The public is lured into clicking on unknown links to download a fraudulent mobile application or enter a fraudulent website to set up an account. Subsequently, the scammers ask them to transfer their principal to unidentified personal bank accounts.

The scammers deliver a small return or send fake interest distribution reports through the investment application/ website for initial transactions, tricking the victims into believing them. After the victims invested more, the scammers flee with the money.

Security Tips

• Do not connect to any suspicious websites or download any attachments by clicking on hyperlinks embedded in SMS messages, emails or websites
• You are advised to invest in Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect through registered investment institutions
• You may check out the public register of licensed persons and registered institutions on the website of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)
• You may enter the suspicious calling number, website or transferee’s account number on “Scameter” or “Scameter+”, the mobile application of “Scameter” for security checks
• If you identify any suspicious activities in your accounts, please contact our bank immediately
• If in doubt, please call the “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” for enquiries

In this type of fraud, criminals use fake, forged or altered cheques to pay for goods or services. The scammers will pose as the buyer and claimed to be willing to make advance payment to confirm the order with the seller. The scammers would then falsify transfer records or pay in dishonoured or invalid cheque as proof of payment which would result in an increase in “account balance”. However, it does not indicate successful transfer of payment as the transfer process has not yet completed. After the seller delivered the goods or services, the scammers could no longer be reached.

Security Tips

• Verify the legitimacy of transactions and the identity of individuals claiming to be the buyer before proceeding
• Never accept cheques from someone you don’t know or trust
• Be especially careful when the cheque is for a large amount. Do not release goods unless the funds are cleared into your account as available funds
• Don’t trust anyone simply because of a bank deposit slip, a screenshot of deposit record or an increase in “account balance”
• If you identify any suspicious activities in your accounts, please contact our bank hotline at (852) 2779 5533 immediately
• If in doubt, report the case to the Hong Kong Police or reach “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” for enquiries