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Wynna Wong

Hong Kong police have arrested five men on suspicion of posing as Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) account holders to withdraw HK$1.8 million (US$231,300) from the city’s new online pension fund platform.
The scam also prompted the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, which manages the pension scheme, to immediately suspend its paperless verification process, known as eKYC, for registering online platform users. It apologised for any inconvenience caused.
Chief Inspector Lee Chun-man of the force’s cybersecurity and technology crime bureau said on Friday that the scam ring was discovered when a resident tried to open an eMPF account in late October, only to find his identity had been stolen and a profile already existed under his name.
About HK$810,000 had been withdrawn from the account under his name and transferred to a bank account opened using his stolen identity.
The eMPF platform is an online one-stop shop designed to allow users to pick their pension service providers, check performance and operate their accounts.
Superintendent Ferris Cheung Hau-yee said 12 victims had been discovered so far, with three suffering losses totalling HK$1.8 million.
The syndicate had failed to open accounts for three others, and police intervened to protect the other six.
The rest had their personal information stolen, but the syndicate had not used it to open accounts or had tried and failed.
The syndicate also laundered HK$78 million through various bank accounts in just two months.
Lee said the five suspects were aged 28 to 65 and included the alleged ringleader. They were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
They allegedly operated using a clear division of labour, he added.

The chief inspector said the syndicate started by obtaining personal data through illegal channels, likely taken from lost identity cards or data leaks.
The victims’ information was used to create fake identity cards that featured photos of syndicate members.
Group members would then use the forged IDs to register an eMPF account, bypassing the eKYC, or “electronic Know-Your-Customer”, facial recognition system and linking the victims’ actual MPF accounts to the newly created digital profiles.
Once they gained control of the accounts, the syndicate would submit withdrawal applications, using reasons such as “retiring” or other grounds, and requesting the funds be transferred into bank accounts opened by group members.
To avoid police detection, syndicate members would avoid withdrawing the money immediately and instead move the funds using multiple layers of accounts across several banks, before finally using ATMs to take the cash out.
Eric Kwok, the general manager of digital and information technology for the authority’s eMPF platform, said the system’s eKYC function had been suspended and that users would need to use the government’s iAM Smart app to verify their identity.
“Suspects had used bogus HKID documents that look very real; the scam is unrelated to the security of the system, but safety is our top priority,” he said.
Francis Fong Po-kiu, honorary president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation, said the eKYC platform was unable to verify all safety features of identity cards as it could not access data on the embedded chip and verify the photos of cardholders.
This created a “loophole” for suspects to use bogus documents that only matched the essential features of the victims and get past the identity verification process, he said.
Fong said iAM Smart, the government’s one-stop digital services hub, was the safest platform to proceed with identity verification because it used the Immigration Department’s facial recognition database, which has access to all residents’ ID photos.
Superintendent Cheung urged the public to “properly safeguard their personal data and identity documents”.
“Do not easily provide your ID details to others to avoid being exploited by criminals,” Cheung said.
“Be proactive in checking your asset management platforms to ensure there are no abnormal logins or suspicious fund movements.”
Additional reporting by Fiona Chow


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News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Scammers impersonated account holders to withdraw funds, prompting managing body to suspend digital verification process


Scammers impersonated account holders to withdraw funds, prompting managing body to suspend digital verification process.


Hong Kong police

Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF)

5 arrested in Hong Kong over HK$1.8 million stolen from eMPF pension accounts

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Scammers impersonated account holders to withdraw funds, prompting managing body to suspend digital verification process

Scammers impersonated account holders to withdraw funds, prompting managing body to suspend digital verification process