The Judiciary Police (PJ) have warned residents to beware of phishing text messages impersonating Financial Services Bureau (DSF) officials, which falsely claim recipients have failed to pay July’s salaries tax and threaten fines if payment is not made within 24 hours, according to a police statement yesterday.
Scammers are randomly sending the messages to residents and directing them to a link purportedly for tax payments, the statement said, adding that the link leads to a fake DSF website designed to steal personal and credit card information.
The phishing site requests users to enter their name, ID card number, credit card number, expiry date and security code, the statement underlined. The police said that scammers may use the stolen information to conduct unauthorised high-value transactions.
The statement reminded residents that local government entities do not send text messages containing links. Residents should not click on links in unsolicited messages without verifying their authenticity, the statement added.
According to the statement, the bureau has also clarified that it does not ask residents via text message to click links to handle tax matters or provide personal information, bank account details, credit card information or one-time verification codes.
Residents who need to check their tax status may call the DSF tax enquiry hotline on 2833 6886, the statement said, adding that residents who suspect they have encountered a scam can use the Judiciary Police’s “Anti-Fraud Programme” to check the risk level, or seek assistance by calling the anti-fraud enquiry hotline on 8800 7777 or the crime report hotline on 993.
This infographic provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) yesterday warns the public against clicking fake Financial Services Bureau (DSF) tax payment SMS links to prevent personal and credit card data theft. Translation from Chinese was arranged by the Post.
