The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) today cautions the public against impersonation scams perpetrated by fraudsters in the name of the SFC. It has come to the SFC attention that scammers who impersonated certain SFC senior executives and well-known stock commentators approached the public through phishing emails and counterfeit documents purportedly coming from the SFC.
In some of the reported cases, fraudsters impersonated the SFC’s Executive Director of Enforcement, Mr Christopher Wilson and sent deceptive emails urging recipients to reply or click on embedded links. The intent of these links is to install malware or ransomware on the computer systems of recipients who respond to these emails.
In other cases, they posed as the SFC’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr Andrew Wan, to obtain the recipients’ contact details through phishing emails under the guise of a “data reconciliation process”.
These fraudsters often use email domains that closely resemble the SFC’s official domain but are fraudulent. Examples of such fake domains include “@sfc.hk.slotsitesxuk.org” and “@sfc.hk.zitirxsend.com”. The recipients targeted in these cases included SFC-licensed corporations and their staff.
Other reported cases in which fraudsters impersonated stock commentators involved circulating fabricated SFC documents to investors, resulting in financial losses to investors that might be linked to market manipulation in some instances.
The SFC emphasises that all such messages and claims are fraudulent and urges the public to exercise utmost caution when dealing with unsolicited communications:
- Do not reply to unsolicited emails or click on suspicious links or attachments.
- Verify personnel identities and the authenticity of any SFC communications through official channels by contacting the SFC at enquiry@sfc.hk.
- The SFC’s official email domain is @sfc.hk; any variation from this is fraudulent.
- Do not send money or disclose account details if asked by anyone claiming to be SFC staff or have insider trading news requesting stock purchases, investment schemes, or tax payments.
- Report any suspected impersonation, fake documents, or suspicious communications immediately to the SFC or the Police.
For more information on scam prevention and known fraudulent activities, visit the SFC’s Alert List and the Police’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre.
