The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) issued an alert to the public following a press release by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited about phishing instant messages that were reported to the HKMA. The HKMA reiterated that banks will not send SMS or emails containing embedded hyperlinks directing customers to bank websites to carry out transactions, nor will they request sensitive personal information such as login passwords or One-Time Passwords by phone, email or SMS, including via embedded hyperlinks. It advised anyone who has provided personal information or conducted financial transactions in response to the messages to contact the bank using the contact information in the bank’s press release and report the matter to the Police.