Editorial | Hong Kong hashtag fight against scams needs support
- Vigilance of city public essential as the latest offensive against cybercrime and phishing gets under way
Hashtags have a new job, fighting phishing in Hong Kong. The prefix “#”, already familiar on social media for the cross-referencing of content, will soon help verify the identity of mobile service providers when they send text messages to customers.
Announced by the Office of the Communications Authority, the system creates a way to block potential scam text messages from unregistered senders.
The latest positive step to fight cybercrime is to be welcomed, but it only stands a chance if met with wider public vigilance. Under the “SMS Sender Registration Scheme”, dedicated sender IDs will be available from Thursday for use by 23 network providers including SmarTone, 3HK and 1010.
More than 100 other service providers have been invited to join the system, and banks are also being asked to take part.
Sidney Tsan Siu-yan, the authority’s assistant director, said he hoped the scheme would help to intercept messages typically sent en masse by scammers. It follows a move earlier this year to send out special voice or text messages alerting users to incoming overseas calls that carried the city’s “+852” dialling code.
