Hong Kong’s finance chief warns against suspected phishing scam after his picture appears in online adverts
- Paul Chan files police report over suspected scam involving adverts with pictures of him to lure victims to cryptocurrency trading platform
- Online articles include purported interviews with Chan praising new cryptocurrency trading system for bringing fortunes
![Financial Secretary Paul Chan. Photo: K. Y. Cheng](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2022/06/11/b0e4cdcf-7358-4a07-abb3-4b984727b14d_f7b17bbc.jpg?itok=lIKVMkEO&v=1654959271)
Hong Kong’s finance chief on Saturday warned people against falling for a suspected phishing scam after his image was used in online advertisements to lure victims to a cryptocurrency trading platform.
The incident prompted Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po to make a report to police – the most senior official to have asked the force for a follow-up investigation into such scams.
The online articles had embedded a picture of Chan and included content purported to be interviews with him praising a new automatic cryptocurrency trading system for bringing fortunes to many users. They also included a link to the platform.
“It has helped many ordinary people in Hong Kong, mainland China and North America to build a fortune overnight. You might be in doubt, as it sounds so unbelievable,” the advert falsely quoted Chan as saying.
![Hong Kong’s finance chief has warned people against falling for a suspected phishing scam. Photo: Yik Yeung -man Hong Kong’s finance chief has warned people against falling for a suspected phishing scam. Photo: Yik Yeung -man](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/06/11/ba5f5840-0387-4788-bfb6-e11177c1374d_6799f761.jpg)
Another advert even described the finance chief as an award-winning singer and actor.
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