The Hong Kong Insurance Authority (IA) has issued warnings to the public about several fraudulent websites and social media pages imitating legitimate insurance companies in Hong Kong.
The IA reported that the sites were impersonating well-known insurers AIA International Limited and BOC Group Life Assurance Company Limited (BOC Life) to deceive consumers, posing risks to both personal information security and financial transactions.
According to the IA, the domains in question include “https://aia-plus.com” and “https://sites.google.com/view/liveyoungapp,” along with a Facebook page under “https://www.facebook.com/dajiajianling.”
These online channels allegedly present themselves as official websites and social media accounts for AIA and BOC Life’s “Live Young” rewards program.
Both companies have stated that they are not associated with these fraudulent sites.
The IA has reported the cases to the Hong Kong Police Force, urging individuals who may have interacted with these sites to take immediate action.
Those who suspect they may have provided personal information or made transactions on these fraudulent pages are advised to reach out to AIA’s customer hotline at +852 2232-8888 or BOC Life’s support line at 2860-0688, as well as to file a report with local police.
These warnings follow the release of the IA’s Anti-Scam Consumer Protection Charter 2.0, a new set of guidelines developed in collaboration with other financial regulators to increase the security standards for online interactions in the financial sector.
This revised charter is intended to address the growing threat of cybercrime targeting financial consumers, including measures designed to improve data privacy, secure customer communications, and better protect personal information from unauthorised access.
Under the Charter 2.0, participating financial institutions agree to implement several specific measures, including:
- avoiding the use of hyperlinks in electronic messages to collect customer information;
- embedding anti-fraud alerts in all client-facing communications;
- providing dedicated customer service channels for fraud-related inquiries; and
- expanding training programs for staff members who directly interact with customers.
A total of 230 financial institutions, including 73 insurance companies and licensed brokerage firms, have expressed their support for the new charter.
