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How to identify bogus calls

How to avoid being a victim of telephone fraudsters

A caller may claim to be from HSBC or another financial institution and could for instance, invite you to apply for a personal loan or a credit card. Any time you receive a call claiming to be from a well-known financial institution, always try to authenticate it. Try to get more information from the caller: ask for their department name and office number as well as how they got your phone number and account information. If they are unwilling to share this information, do not continue the conversation. You can also call the HSBC hotline to verify the identity of the caller.

Never disclose any sensitive personal information to the caller. HSBC will never phone you or email you asking sensitive personal information. 

Tips to help you identify a fraudulent call

Smart Tips

  • The call is a pre-recorded message notifying you of irregularities with your bank or card account
  • Voice quality is relatively bad as if it is a long distance call
  • The caller refuses to provide a department name or is unwilling to provide a call-back number
  • The caller says there are irregularities with your bank or credit card account
  • The caller focuses on products such as credit products or services with a low interest rate, such as personal loan, add on mortgage, re-mortgage
  • The caller tries to close the sale as quickly as possible and is impatient to discuss the product or service in detail
  • Be especially cautious whenever a caller asks for sensitive personal information such as your banking password, or is trying to sell you credit products or services over the phone. You should know that HSBC has not authorised or appointed any intermediaries to do telesales to promote personal loans, tax loans or credit cards

What you can do if you receive a suspicious call

If you receive a suspicious call, don’t be alarmed. Hang up immediately. Call us at (852) 2233 3000 if you have shared any personal details with the caller, and report the call to the police to provide the caller’s phone number and what kind of information has been given. Give them the caller's phone number and tell them what sort of information you shared. If you told the caller your password, change it immediately.

Should you receive a call from someone at HSBC that causes you concern over their identity, be aware that actual HSBC employees will be able to inform you of their name and the relevant branch/department they belong to. You can then verify the employee's identity by calling our hotline. Our staff will never ask you to provide sensitive personal information, such as passwords, over the phone, nor will we notify you of account irregularities using pre-recorded messages. If you're suspicious of any calls claiming to be from HSBC, do not disclose your personal or account information, and contact us at once.

For full peace of mind, you should review your bank and credit card statements and advice regularly, and report any irregularities to HSBC immediately.

If you prefer not to receive marketing information and telemarketing calls from HSBC, please inform us through these channels and we’ll arrange to have your contact number excluded from our marketing lists, without charge, in 7 calendar days.

  • Call (852) 2233 3000
  • Mail your request to "The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, PO BOX 72677, Kowloon Central Post Office, Kowloon, Hong Kong”
  • Visit any HSBC branch

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