Hong Kong records drop in email phishing cases, but scam drill shows cybersecurity awareness ‘still lacking’
- City reports 54.2 per cent drop in cases compared with same period last year
- But police say more public awareness is needed, as participants in anti-scam drill fell for fake online meeting invites, AI chatbot subscriptions
Hong Kong recorded a significant drop in the number of email phishing cases in the first five months of this year, but police warned public awareness of cybersecurity was still lacking as employees at most companies that took part in an anti-scam drill had clicked on dubious links.
The city logged 71 email phishing cases in the first five months of 2023, a 54.2 per cent drop compared with the same period last year, police revealed on Monday.
The amount lost totalled HK$50.9 million (US$6.5 million), accounting for an 87.4 per cent decline over the same period in 2022.
The drop follows a downward trend recorded since 2019, when 816 incidents were reported to authorities, representing an 8.7 per cent decline compared with 2018. Losses amounted to HK$2.54 billion in 2019, marking a 48 per cent rise over the previous year.
Only 391 cases surfaced in 2022, with losses totalling HK$750 million.
Senior Superintendent Raymond Lam Cheuk-ho at the police’s cybersecurity and technology crime bureau attributed the downward trend to improved mail filtering tools, better public awareness and stricter requirements for opening company bank accounts.
“Phishing emails targeting firms will pretend to be from the receivers’ managers or business partners, and tell them to send money to bank accounts controlled by scammers,” he said.