The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Thursday warned members of the public to beware of suspicious links on WhatsApp and other messaging platforms, saying there has been a sharp rise in fraud-related banking complaints.

The authority said it had received 954 complaints in the first nine months of this year, over 70 percent more than the total figure for 2022.

The authority’s deputy chief executive, Arthur Yuen, said people should exercise utmost caution before clicking on hyperlinks.

“In the past month or so, we are beginning to receive complaints in relation to those WhatsApp messages. People hacking someone’s phone and then sending out messages on those instant messaging platforms, pretending to be friends,” he said.

“If somebody asks you to push a link, be very careful even if that person holds out to be your friend.”

The HKMA also said it’s launching a new FPS alert mechanism to warn users of suspicious proxy ID, if it's labelled as "high risk" on the police's search engine "Scameter".

"The data have to get into Scameter in the first place. There will always be a bit of time lag, between the time something happened, and then it's reflected in the Scameter's red alert level… this would not be a completely foolproof standalone measure," Yuen said.

More than 40 banks and stored value facility licensees will take part in the initiative, which is expected to be launched in the coming one to two months.