Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung on Monday said the public should be on guard against phishing text messages and websites that seek to scam donors who want to help survivors of the Tai Po blaze.

In a statement, her office noted that messages that pretend to be sent out by social welfare organisations had been circulating around.

It said scammers were also suspected to be masquerading as volunteers taking down personal particulars of survivors.

The personal information they were after included names, identity card and phone numbers, as well as bank account details.

"Chung strongly condemns the acts of exploiting the disaster to deceive and reminds survivors and the public to stay vigilant and verify whether or not registration forms are genuine," the office said.

She said survivors could seek subsidies through social workers arranged by the government and that donors could give money through official channels.