Hong Kong loses $28 million to online credit card misuse

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Hong Kong loses $28 million to online credit card misuse

Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yuHui Ching-yu holds a press conference on February 24, 2022. PHOTO HKSAR GOVERNMENT HONG KONG - A total of HK $28 million $3.59 million has been lost to online credit card misuse in the last five years, according to Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yuHui Ching-yu.

According to a question at the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Hui said that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the banking industry have implemented a series of measures to improve the security of credit cards.

He said that if a cardholder suspects that his or her credit card information has been stolen for conducting fraudulent transactions, he or she should report it to the police or with the banks as soon as possible.

According to the Bank of International Settlements, each Hong Kong resident has an average of 2.6 credit cards from 2018 to 2020, up from 2.5 cards in 2017, Hui said.

He said that 19.71 million credit cards were issued in Hong Kong in 2019; 19.37 million in 2020 and 19.05 in 2021.

Hui said that the HKMA is committed to tackling fraud cases and requires banks to implement effective measures to ensure the security of online credit card transactions.

READ MORE: Police use social media to combat online fraud.

He added that such measures apply to all credit cards, regardless of whether or not they have been used for transactions recently.