The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched the Faster Payment System Suspicious Proxy ID Alert to alert users of associated fraud risks before conducting transactions.
An alert message will be displayed to users, if the payee's FPS proxy ID - including mobile phone number, email address, and FPS Identifier - falls within the list of proxy IDs labeled as "high risk" on Scameter, reminding them to think twice before deciding whether to cancel the transaction or continue with the payment.
Police recorded a 23.2 percent increase in online shopping fraud cases in the first half of this year, and most of the 4,800 cases involved the FPS, through which people can make payments by simply entering a mobile phone number or email address, known as a proxy.
They said losses from fraud cases exceeded HK$94 million in the six months to June, more than one-and-a-half times the sum taken in the same period last year.
