Fraudulent Phone Calls, SMS Alerts and Phishing EmailsFraudulent Phone Calls, SMS Alerts and Phishing Emails

Fraudulent Phone Calls, SMS Alerts and Phishing Emails

Fraudulent Phone Calls, SMS Alerts and Phishing Emails

SMS Sender Registration Scheme

Public Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (the “Bank”) has joined the “SMS Sender Registration Scheme” initiated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Association of Banks and the Office of the Communications Authority, as part of its efforts to safeguard customers against SMS scams.

Starting from 28 January 2024, the Bank shall use one of the following sender IDs with the prefix # to transmit one-way SMS to mobile numbers registered with the Hong Kong telecommunication operators: 
 

  1. #PBHK,
  2. #PBHK1, or
  3. #PBHK2.

 

Stay Alert to Phishing Communications

Phishing is a common cybercrime that fraudsters attempt to obtain your sensitive personal information e.g. your user ID, password, bank account numbers etc.  Fraudsters will then use the information provided by you to access your bank accounts for illegal purposes e.g. conduct unauthorized transactions.

Public Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (the “Bank”) would never send any SMS or email messages with embedded hyperlinks which direct customers to the Bank’s websites to carry out transactions. Meanwhile, the Bank would not request customers to provide their login credentials and / or other sensitive personal data, e.g. ATM card details, login passwords or OTP etc. by phone, email or SMS (including via embedded hyperlinks).

If you receive any SMS or email messages with embedded hyperlinks requesting you to input Net Banking login credentials, these messages should not originate from the Bank. You should think twice before clicking any hyperlinks purportedly sent by the Bank. If you find the hyperlinks (or attachments) in the SMS or email messages suspicious, do not click the hyperlinks (or open the attachments). You should always access Net Banking and / or Internet Securities Trading by entering the Bank’s website address directly.

 

Dos

  • Contact the Bank to verify the SMS, email or caller authenticity
  • Visit the Bank’s official website and download Apps from official sources directly

 

Don’ts

  • Never click the URL or scan a QR Code in the SMS or email to login the Bank’s Net Banking or Internet Securities Trading
  • Never reveal your sensitive personal data or login credentials to anyone or websites of unknown sources
  • Never click or install the attachments in emails

 

12/04/2024
Unauthorized use of the Bank’s name to conduct telephone marketing calls for personal loan business
12/04/2024
Notice of Fraudulent Telephone Voice Messages / SMS Messages

The Bank does not conduct telemarketing calls to non-customers to solicit personal loan business nor appoint any third party to carry out such activities.

 

For Fraud Prevention Information of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, please visit Fraud Prevention Information and Education video (Chinese version only) provided by Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

 

For inquiries and verification of caller’s identity of phone calls or hotline numbers mentioned in SMS messages, please call the Bank’s Hotline (852) 8107 0818 and then press "0" and "3" after language selection.