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Hong Kong society
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Hongkongers urged to quickly sign up for eMPF platform as defence against scams

Cybersecurity experts call on residents to move quickly after HK$1.8 million stolen from three MPF accounts

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The eMPF platform provides users with a one-stop online portal for managing their pension funds. Photo: Handout
Oscar Liu
Cybersecurity experts have urged Hong Kong residents to prioritise the use of an official one-stop digital identity app to register their accounts on the city’s new centralised pension fund platform to prevent theft after scammers made off with HK$1.8 million.
Some also questioned why the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), which manages the eMPF platform, did not deploy the government’s “iAM Smart” app as a mandatory process for verifying users’ identity from the outset.

They called on MPF members to create accounts on the eMPF platform as soon as possible to pre-empt scammers.

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Last week, police arrested five people on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering after they allegedly used fake Hong Kong identity card information to create 12 accounts on the eMPF platform and stole HK$1.8 million from the funds of three residents.

The case triggered alarm bells over the security of the HK$1.5 trillion (US$192 billion) in net assets held by the city’s 4.75 million MPF scheme members.

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The syndicate exploited the “electronic Know-Your-Customer” process, or eKYC, posing as account holders by using sophisticated fake IDs to create fraudulent accounts and siphon retirement funds.

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