Police on Monday alerted the public to a new scam in which fraudsters have tried to use a fake version of the force's anti-scam mobile application to pose as officers to trick individuals to hand over their personal details and money.

Superintendent Chan Shun-ching of the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau said there were reports of scammers sending phishing SMS messages, particularly to those who have fallen victim to similar fraud.

“The messages would claim that a substantial amount of fraudulent funds have been recovered and can be returned to the victims of the fraud,” he said.

“The recipients would be tricked into clicking on a link that leads to a phishing website. Afterwards, they would be asked to download a fake version of the police’s anti-scam app.”

Chan said upon installation, the scammers would pose as officials from the mainland, asking recipients to provide their personal information, such as name, age, address, the type of fraud case they fell victim to, and the amount of money lost.

They would then propose different schemes for recipients to retrieve lost funds but also request them to deposit more money.

Chan stressed that the police force's real “Scameter” app can only be downloaded from three official app stores and would never ask for a user's personal information.

There have so far been no reported victims or arrests related to this scam but Chan urged the public to remain vigilant and verify any suspicious messages or emails they receive.