Take the quiz
Are you vulnerable to online scams?
Answer questions regarding your social media and internet habits. The more correct answers you get, the better your online habits and preventive scam knowledge, and the less likely you will become a victim.
1 8
A stranger sends you a connection request on social media.
2 8
You receive an email regarding an unauthorized transaction on your credit card and are asked to click on a hyperlink to cancel the transaction. What would you do?
2 8
You receive an email regarding an unauthorized transaction on your credit card and are asked to click on a hyperlink to cancel the transaction. What would you do?
3 8
A friend contacts you on social media asking to borrow HK$8,000 from you for an emergency. What would you do?
3 8
A friend contacts you on social media asking to borrow HK$8,000 from you for an emergency. What would you do?
4 8
Your whatsapp number is being added to a stock trading chat group. What would you do?
4 8
Your whatsapp number is being added to a stock trading chat group. What would you do?
5 8
You are casually browsing the internet and find that an investment guru is starting a stock trading class that is said to provide a 100% return every month. Sign-up is free but you will have to donate some of your trading profits to charities. Will you sign up for the class?
5 8
You are casually browsing the internet and find that an investment guru is starting a stock trading class that is said to provide a 100% return every month. Sign-up is free but you will have to donate some of your trading profits to charities. Will you sign up for the class?
6 8
A hot product is now on sale at 50% off on a social media page. What would you do?
6 8
A hot product is now on sale at 50% off on a social media page. What would you do?
7 8
Someone just posted on social media about a work-from-home opportunity – no experience required with flexible working hours. Pay is between HK$500-700 per day. Would you be interested?
7 8
Someone just posted on social media about a work-from-home opportunity – no experience required with flexible working hours. Pay is between HK$500-700 per day. Would you be interested?
8 8
You receive a SMS about a HK$1,000 transfer into your bank account via Fast Payment System (FPS). Then someone texts you saying he/she has made a mistake and asks you to transfer the money back. What would you do?
8 8
You receive a SMS about a HK$1,000 transfer into your bank account via Fast Payment System (FPS). Then someone texts you saying he/she has made a mistake and asks you to transfer the money back. What would you do?
1
1

You are a sincere person who enjoys helping others. But many lawbreakers may take advantage of your kindness. Online scams can be carried out in a myriad of ways. To protect yourself, you must stay vigilant and visit the IFEC website to learn how to avoid scams!

Don’t fall prey to online scams! If you suspect that you have become a victim, call the Police’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre hotline 18222 for help.

You are clear-headed and have some knowledge of scam prevention, but not enough to deal with the many tricks of fraudsters. Worry not! You have the potential to do better. Stay vigilant and visit the IFEC website to learn more on scam prevention. You too can become an anti-scam expert!

Don’t fall prey to online scams! If you suspect that you have become a victim, call the Police’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre hotline 18222 for help.

Congratulations! You have answered all the questions correctly! That proves you are cautious, perceptive, and have a good grasp and understanding of scam prevention. But fraudsters have a myriad of tricks, so besides staying vigilant, you should also check out the IFEC website for updates on scam prevention.

Don’t fall prey to online scams! If you suspect that you have become a victim, call the Police’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre hotline 18222 for help.

Correct answers and analysis by the Anti-Scam Unit
01
A stranger sends you a connection request on social media.
The correct answer is
C
Never accept requests from strangers
Scammers usually disguise themselves as attractive and highly educated professionals, and post everyday and work photos on social media to make their profiles look authentic. Scammers will send connection requests to potential victims, become friendly, and deceive them with sweet talks before coming up with all sorts of excuses to con them out of money, including claimed joint investments, insider stock tips, or in need of money to run a business or to pay for medical expenses etc.
02
You receive an email regarding an unauthorized transaction on your credit card and are asked to click on a hyperlink to cancel the transaction. What would you do?
The correct answer is
A
Call the credit card issuer for clarification
Scammers will send bogus emails that look like they are from legitimate financial institutions to trick recipients into disclosing credit card or bank account numbers and passwords. They will make up emails and websites with domain names similar or even identical to those of legitimate financial institutions. Apart from banks, scammers will also send out bogus emails in the name of government departments, telecoms, couriers, etc. If you are in any doubt, simply do not click on the hyperlink nor open any attachments. Call the concerned institutions to verify the email’s authenticity.
03
A friend contacts you on social media asking to borrow HK$8,000 from you for an emergency. What would you do?
The correct answer is
C
Call the friend to verify the request
Scammers may illegally obtain social media personal account information, including login information and passwords, and use this stolen identity to deceive the victim’s friends and relatives, requesting for loans, points card purchases etc. Always call up the person to check if the request is genuine.
04
Your whatsapp number is being added to a stock trading chat group. What would you do?
The correct answer is
C
Leave and delete the group immediately
Scammers often operate ‘ramp and dump’ schemes through stock trading chat groups. They will first recommend popular stocks to build up their credibility, and once enough trust is garnered, they will start giving so-called insider tips and recommend stocks that can be easily manipulated. Fraudsters will use different tactics to con potential victims, such as threatening to kick them out of the group, or befriending them with sweet talk. Other group members, culprits of the scammer, will also act in favour of the scam, making it all the more easier to defraud the victims. Scammers will also request investors to provide proof of their stock trading transactions, such as screenshots, which will then be forwarded to the mastermind behind the scheme to earn commission. Finally, the group will dump the stocks, plummeting the stock price over a short period of time, and investors who bought the stock at inflated prices will bear significant losses.
05
You are casually browsing the internet and find that an investment guru is starting a stock trading class that is said to provide a 100% return every month. Sign-up is free but you will have to donate some of your trading profits to charities. Will you sign up for the class?
The correct answer is
A
Sounds too good to be true
Scammers have many tricks up their sleeves to draw investors into joining their stock trading chat groups, e.g. impersonating financial experts or celebrities to set up investment classes, leaving comments in different social media posts or videos of financial experts, or participating in discussions on different online forums. Once investors join the chat group, scammers will gradually deceive and con them out of their money, in similar fashion as described in the last question.
Got it
06
A hot product is now on sale at 50% off on a social media page. What would you do?
The correct answer is
C
Conduct fact check to see if the seller is credible
Scammers usually attract buyers with lower-than-market prices or special limited-time offers. They typically refuse cash on delivery and require buyers to deposit money into a designated account. After the money is transferred, the buyer will not receive the goods and the seller will simply disappear. It’s important to always conduct a fact check on the seller before making any purchases.
Oh Really?!
07
Someone just posted on social media about a work-from-home opportunity – no experience required with flexible working hours. Pay is between HK$500-700 per day. Would you be interested?
The correct answer is
C
Ignore any offers of this kind
The pandemic has left many desperate for jobs, as they have been put out of work or are forced to take unpaid leave. Scammers may take advantage of the situation to post job recruitment ads (e.g. via click farms) on social media. Typically, there is a click farm website in place to lure job-seekers; then the scammers will explain how to create fake orders to obtain commission. Victims are then asked to set up an account and put money in it to generate fake orders. Subsequently, after the money is transferred, the scammer will no longer be contactable.
08
You receive a SMS about a HK$1,000 transfer into your bank account via Fast Payment System (FPS). Then someone texts you saying he/she has made a mistake and asks you to transfer the money back. What would you do?
The correct answer is
C
Check my account to see if the said amount is received. If so, return it through the bank.
Banks and institutions supporting FPS will usually notify users via SMS when money is transferred via FPS. However, scammers would take advantage of this arrangement to deceive victims by first sending a seemingly genuine SMS notification of a successful money transfer; then they will contact the victim via WhatsApp, claiming that they have transferred the amount into his/her account by mistake, while providing the victim’s abbreviated bank account name and forging a transfer record, to mislead the victim into ‘returning’ the money.
Don’t fall prey to online scams!
If you suspect that you have become a victim, call the Police’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre hotline 18222 for help.
Disclaimer
Your privacy and trust is important to us. The following quiz does not collect, retain nor share your personal data. Questions in the quiz only reflect some aspects of online scams and tactics. The model answers and analysis only represent the general best practices considered by the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC); they are for reference only, and cannot be considered as replacement for legal, financial or other professional advice. The IFEC shall not be liable for any human or mechanical errors or omissions in or any reliance placed upon the quiz results; nor shall it be liable for any consequences from decisions or actions taken upon, or as a result of the information provided in the quiz. Should users have any enquiries about online scams or suspect that they have been scammed, they should call the “Anti-Scam Helpline 18222” of the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre of the Hong Kong Police Force for assistance.