Phishing scams surge in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's information security experts have urged companies and internet users to be on their guard after an apparent surge in the number of "phishing" cases.

The Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team said on Wednesday that the number of phishing cases it handled last year tripled to 2,000, compared with 2014.

In total, the team handled close to 5,000 information security incidents last year.

A senior consultant with the team, Leung Siu-cheong, said phishing scams as well as bogus websites from overseas or the Chinese mainland, were used to lure users to enter their personal information such as credit card numbers.

He said companies should separate their networks from public Wi-Fi systems and install security software.

Leung also called on the public not to open hyperlinks received in email or other instant messaging apps before verifying them.