Social distancing measures during the pandemic have minimised physical contact between people, and affected the way we go about our lives, how we work, study and even how we manage our money. The most significant impact of all is the acceleration of digital transformation, leading us to become more reliant on online services to handle every day matters, as well as managing our finances.
However, the recent surge in online scams is alarming. According to a survey conducted by the IFEC, close to half of the respondents have encountered online scams, with the most common ones being phishing emails or bogus calls to bank account passwords or credit card information, followed by online shopping frauds in which the goods are never received after payment is made. Other commonly-reported scams include phishing emails requesting money transfers and fraudulent bank/ investment/ shopping websites. One in eleven of the respondents suffered financial losses from scams, with an average loss of HK$17,000.
According to the figures released by the Police, the number of investment and online shopping scams has more than doubled in 2020, with monetary losses totalling to nearly HK$1.5 billion in just the first half of the year.
Growing cybersecurity threats
With the rise of online scams and cybersecurity threats, you can easily become the next victim if you are not careful enough. To find out how scam-proof you are, take a look at how many of the eight basic cybersecurity measures you have taken.
Cybersecurity measures – 8 good practices
| 1. | Change password regularly |
| 2. | Access website only by entering the website address (URL) directly or through bookmarks. Avoid clicking on hyperlinks in emails or from internet search results. |
| 3. | Use a different password for each online account |
| 4. | Regularly scan and remove viruses with an antivirus software |
| 5. | Log into online financial services platforms using two-factor authentication |
| 6. | Use your private wireless network (i.e. not the public WiFi) to access online investment or banking services |
| 7. | Set a strong password that is difficult to crack (e.g., a password with eight characters of more and contains letters, numbers and symbols) |
| 8. | Log in to your online accounts regularly to keep a close eye on all transactions |
