Public Warned of Fraudulent Websites Pretending to be for Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme

Members of the public in Hong Kong have been alerted to fraudulent websites mimicking the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme (PTFSS), with the Transport Department (TD) clarifying that these sites have no connection with the scheme. The TD has referred the case to the Police for further investigation and warns individuals not to provide personal information, including credit card details and Hong Kong identity card numbers, to these fake websites.

Key Takeaways:

• The Transport Department (TD) has warned the public about fraudulent websites pretending to be for the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme (PTFSS).
• The fake websites seek to deceive individuals into providing personal information, including name, Hong Kong identity card number, mobile phone number, and credit card account.
• The TD clarifies that these websites have no connection with the PTFSS and has referred the case to the Police for follow-up.
• Members of the public are not required to provide credit card and personal information for collecting subsidies under the PTFSS.
• The TD reminds individuals to stay alert when receiving unidentified messages and avoid visiting suspicious websites.
• Anyone who has provided personal information to the fake websites should contact the Police immediately.
• Users of Octopus and AlipayHK can contact 2969 5500 (Octopus) and 3002 0905 (AlipayHK) respectively for inquiries about the PTFSS.

Statistics:

• 2 fraudulent website addresses have been identified: https[:]//ptfss[.]top/hk and https[:]//ptfss[.]cc/hk.
• The Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme (PTFSS) is a legitimate government initiative to provide subsidies for public transport fares.
• As of August 4, no specific number of individuals has been reported to have been deceived by the fake websites is available.

Sources:

• Hong Kong SAR Government: Original Press Release, August 4 (no specific date mentioned).