Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority confirms MPF intermediaries have ended marketing cold calls and plans further anti-scam supervision

In a blog post, the Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) warned of widespread unsolicited sales calls linked to Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) products and services, including scams where fraudsters impersonate MPF intermediaries. It reported that, following supervisory measures and tighter requirements for cold calls, cold-calling activity has fallen since 2024 and all intermediaries stopped making sales cold calls in February 2025, meaning intermediaries will no longer use cold calling to market MPF. Intermediaries may still call scheme members to follow up on MPF-related matters such as opening accounts or switching schemes, with the MPFA urging the public to verify callers’ identities with the relevant intermediary company. The MPFA’s three-pronged response combines industry supervision, cross-sector collaboration and public awareness, including six industry circulars over the past two years and a further circular due on 31 March 2025 reminding intermediary companies to implement measures to prevent sales cold calls, backed by disciplinary action up to permanent revocation of registration for misconduct. The collaborative measures cited include participation by all MPF trustees and 24 MPF intermediary companies in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Anti-Scam Consumer Protection Charter 2.0 and, for SMS communications, adoption by all trustees and 15 major intermediary companies of the Office of the Communications Authority’s SMS Sender Registration Scheme using the “#” prefix.