News
Fake FPS refund sites pose as Hong Kong's interbank clearing body
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority says two sites posing as HKICL, branded 'Buyer Online Protection', seek bank details under cover of FPS refunds.
Key facts
Two fake sites named: tk.f2g4h.cn and fps.852789.cc Sites pose as 'Buyer Online Protection' offering FPS refunds Sites ask for bank name, account number and account holder name HKICL says it never contacts the public proactively
Reported by
Hong Kong Monetary AuthorityTwo fraudulent websites are copying Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited to reach people who made an FPS payment and want a refund. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, issuing on behalf of HKICL, names the sites as tk.f2g4h.cn and fps.852789.cc. If a website offers to refund an FPS transaction or report it as unauthorised, stop and verify through HKICL's genuine site before entering any bank details.
The two fake domains do not resemble HKICL's real addresses at a glance. The genuine sites are www.hkicl.com.hk and fps.hkicl.com.hk. The fake ones use unrelated domain endings, .cn and .cc, which is the first sign something is wrong, though a user focused on getting a refund has little reason to check a domain ending mid-task.
What the sites are built to do
The notice describes the sites branding themselves as 'Buyer Online Protection'. They offer three services: a refund to the buyer, a way to report an unauthorised online transaction, and support for an online transaction made over FPS. All three are framed around the moment someone is already worried about a payment, which is exactly when a person is least likely to slow down and check who they are dealing with.
The scam depends on one specific step. To use the refund or support service, a person is asked for their bank name, account number and account holder name, supposedly to top up and withdraw from a wallet on the platform. That is the point at which a request for a refund becomes a request for the account details needed to move money out. Once the site has those, it hands the person to someone posing as customer service, adding a human voice to a process that has, up to that point, been entirely automated-looking.
HKICL states plainly that it has no affiliation with either site and does not run any part of this service. It also says it will not normally contact individual members of the public proactively, nor provide FPS service directly to them. That second point matters: FPS is the interbank payment system behind many everyday transfers in Hong Kong, and HKICL's own role in it does not involve dealing with individual users by phone or by a refund portal at all.
Anyone unsure whether a message or website claiming to be from HKICL is genuine can call HKICL's general line, 2533 1111, to check. Anyone who believes they have already given details to one of these sites is advised to report it to the police.
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