Online scams continue to evolve. According to the latest figures from the Security Bureau, scam-related losses in the first quarter of this year reached HK$1.85 billion, up 18.6% year-on-year. Phishing cases alone rose 10.5%.
In response, AlipayHK has introduced a new “SMS Authenticity Reminder” feature. Users can now check all official messages sent by AlipayHK with a single tap in the app’s notification centre, making it easy to verify whether a message is genuine.
When users receive a text claiming to be from AlipayHK, they simply open the AlipayHK app and go to the notification centre (top-right corner of the home page). There they can review the complete record of official SMS messages and confirm the source. This shifts users from passively falling victim to actively protecting themselves. The feature is scheduled for an upgrade in August that will also include official call verification, further reducing the risk of scams.
Joint campaign with police: “AliSa x The Little Grape” purple App Skin and immersive anti-scam education
To raise public awareness, AlipayHK has partnered with the police to launch a full-purple “AliSa x The Little Grape” App Skin. Users can redeem it free of charge on the campaign page starting today. The app also features an anti-scam quiz mini-game; users who answer correctly can earn up to 300 A.Points, making anti-fraud education fun and engaging.
Cross-industry collaboration to stop scams at the source
AlipayHK works closely with the police, the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) and local telecom operators to strengthen early detection and prevention of scam risks. On the SMS front, the company has already helped identify and block multiple fake AlipayHK sender IDs. It is also planning further cooperation with telecom operators to proactively detect and intercept phishing SMS content.
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