Futu Securities International (Hong Kong) Limited ("Futu" or "The Company"), a leading tech-driven digitalized brokerage and wealth management platform, has received nearly 5,000 enquiries related to phishing SMS messages over the past few months. The matter has been reported to the Hong Kong Police Force and filed. The Company has also issued a letter to the Office of the Communications Authority concerning the public interest. Futu hereby reminds the general public to maintain a high degree of vigilance against suspicious information and potential scams.

Futu reported to the police 3 times over a thousand phishing SMS enquiries each month
Since September last year, Futu has reported to the police for 3 times and notified the relevant regulators for the incident of prevalent phishing SMS messages. Futu has also published an anti-fraud announcement on its website and app, and enriched relevant investor education content. But scammers are still rampant. According to Futu Securities' data, there have been nearly 5,000 enquiries related to fraudulent SMS messages over the last four months since September 2022, with a considerable average number of more than 1,000 cases per month. 

Futu reminds the mass public to cautiously handle fraudulent solicitations 
In Hong Kong, Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance requires senders of commercial electronic messages to provide clear and accurate sender information in the message, but does not require a registration system for customized sender ID in place to filter junk messages. Therefore, Futu alerts that the overseas fraudsters may collect random bulk contacts from multiple channels and purport to be Futu to distribute mass messages. The company reiterates that it has no connection with the phishing SMS messages involved, nor the institutions and personnel behind them. Futu will never provide investment advice nor organize investment advisory events through SMS messages or other instant communication software.  

The public should not open any embedded hyperlinks in phishing SMS messages and interact with suspicious individuals. They are also advised to protect their sensitive information, personal credentials and passwords to avoid unnecessary loss. If the general public has any enquiries, please visit Futu's official website at www.futuhk.com, or contact our customer service via Futubull App, or the hotline: 2523 3588.