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To combat the growing menace of impersonation scams, both the government and private sectors in Hong Kong are stepping up targeted anti-fraud measures.
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Leading logistics provider SF Express Hong Kong and the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) have introduced key initiatives—ranging from migrating customer notifications to official applications to implementing verified SMS sender systems—that are successfully driving down victimization rates.
SF Express shifts to official app to slash scam rates
SF Express Hong Kong has seen a dramatic decrease in customer fraud since overhauling its communication methods. According to SF Express spokesman, the company began replacing traditional SMS notifications with alerts through its official mobile application in 2025. This strategic transition caused the overall fraud rate among its customers to plunge from 5.03 percent to just 0.65 percent.
Despite the encouraging decline, she emphasized that even a single scam case is too many. She reiterated the logistics giant's strict "three nos" anti-fraud principle: SF Express will never solicit personal information, demand monetary transfers, or transfer calls to external parties.
She urged the public to remain vigilant and verify any suspicious communications directly through the official SF Express customer service hotline or the live-chat feature within their official app.
SMS sender registry expands to protect consumers
On the regulatory side, OFCA has been working closely with law enforcement and local telecommunications operators to block fraudulent messages at the network level. Michael Chan, Principal Regulatory Affairs Manager at OFCA, highlighted the progress of the "SMS Sender Registration Scheme," which was launched in late 2023. As of August this year, more than 880 organizations—including major telecom operators, banks, and government departments—have registered under the program.
Under this system, messages sent by verified organizations will feature a unique "Registered SMS Sender ID" that always begins with the "#" prefix. Local telecom networks are designed to automatically block any unauthorized SMS that attempts to spoof this prefix.
Chan clarified that the "#" symbol is only placed at the very beginning of the sender name, which must be between three to ten characters long, consisting of English letters, numbers, or special symbols, with no Chinese characters permitted.
Members of the public can easily access the full registry of verified organizations on the OFCA website. However, officials warn that regardless of how a sender's name appears, citizens should never blindly click on links embedded in messages.
When in doubt, individuals are advised to verify the message through official organizational channels or contact the police for assistance.
