Empowering the public to guard against investment scams: IFEC launches new anti-investment scam experience at the IFEC FinEd Hub and announces IFEA 2025 awards
10 March 2026
- The IFEC FinEd Hub introduces a new experience – “IFEC Investment Game” that simulates real-life-inspired investment scams, helping the public to recognise red flags and respond to scams with confidence and vigilance, fostering informed decision-making and financial resilience.
- 53 IFEA awards were presented to a total of 61 organisations and schools for their impactful efforts in advancing investor and financial education in Hong Kong.
The Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) today hosted the Investor and Financial Education Award (IFEA) 2025 Presentation Ceremony cum Investment Game Launch Ceremony at the IFEC FinEd Hub (Hub). The event underscored IFEC’s commitment to safeguarding the public from investment scams and marked a milestone in the IFEC’s digital transformation journey and ongoing innovation to promote financial literacy.
At the ceremony, the IFEC unveiled its latest initiative, “IFEC Investment Game”, a new experience at the Hub, bringing investor and financial education, as well as anti-investment scam awareness, to life in a practical and engaging way.
IFEC Investment Game simulates a range of real-life-inspired scenarios, including fake and fraudulent investment tips, products promising high returns, social media investment groups, and artificial intelligence-driven scams. It helps participants identify red flags, build scam awareness, and make informed investment decisions, enabling them to respond to investment scams with confidence and vigilance.
Addressing the ceremony, Mr Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said, “As an international financial centre, it is our shared responsibility to maintain market fairness, transparency, and investor confidence in Hong Kong. Among which, enhancing public financial literacy and awareness of financial fraud is the cornerstone. The government attaches great importance to investor education all along and fully supports the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and its IFEC in carrying out relevant work. Today, we are here not only to recognise institutions that have made outstanding contributions to investor and financial education, but also to further unite the efforts of all sectors of society. Let’s build a financially prudent and resilient Hong Kong society together.”
Mr Joe Chow, Commissioner of Police said, "In 2025 losses from investment scams accounted for nearly half of the total losses, reaching HK$ 3.9 billion. The average loss per case reaches HK$700,000, and more than 80% of the victims were deceived on commonly used social media platforms. The Police have adopted four major strategies to combat scams in the coming year. Starting from the root cause, police will comprehensively dismantle fraud industry chains, including tackling the use of telecommunications networks for fraudulent purposes at the source, and cracking down on stooge accounts used to collect illicit proceeds through strengthening enforcement, expediting prosecutions and seeking enhanced sentencing; second, police will focus on combating investment fraud as a key publicity goal; third, police also strengthen the use of the "Scameter+" App through new features such as databases updates, expanded reporting categories, and artificial intelligence technology to analyze citizens' reported suspicious websites and block them, hoping to increase scam intervention; and finally to actively promote international collaboration between countries to more effectively combat cross-border crimes."
Mr Victor Dawes, IFEC Chairman said, “The rise of artificial intelligence and Web3 brings both exciting opportunities and new challenges to the public, further highlighting the importance of investor and financial education. The launch of the new anti-investment scam learning experience – “IFEC Investment Game”, demonstrates IFEC’s commitment to using technology to enhance financial literacy, empowering the public to recognise and respond to investment scams with caution and confidence. We sincerely thank our stakeholders for their continued support as we work together to strengthen investor and financial education and to provide anti-scam resources, further improving the financial well-being of the community in Hong Kong.”
Dr Kelvin Wong, Chairman of the SFC said in his remarks at the ceremony, “The SFC is honoured to partner with the IFEC in advancing investor and financial education and sowing the seeds of prudent financial management in society. We will continue to serve as a hub and unite stakeholders, instilling financial literacy so that individuals can confidently manage their personal finance and live a prosperous life, while also reinforcing capital market integrity and advancing Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre.”
Ms Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the SFC said, “Investment scams have surged in recent years, with elderly victims losing all life savings in some cases. Cross-sector collaboration and public education are urgently needed to heighten societal vigilance. The SFC will continue partnering with the IFEC, the police and the industry to strengthen investor education, enhance intelligence-sharing, scam detection and put a stop to transfer of scam money, while urging the public to stay alert, verify information, and collectively safeguard Hong Kong’s financial market integrity.”
During the ceremony, the IFEC also announced the IFEA 2025 results, honouring 61 organisations and schools for their outstanding contributions to investor and financial education in the community.
Click here for the full list of IFEA 2025 awardees.
Click here to reserve your visit to the Hub.
