The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) have announced that customers of all retail banks in the special administrative region can activate the Money Safe anti-scam security tool from Wednesday, adding a layer of protection to their savings and helping reduce potential scam-related losses.

“Strengthening bank customers’ ability to protect themselves is a crucial part of our anti-scam efforts,” said Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, deputy chief executive of the HKMA, on Tuesday. “I urge the public to make full use of Money Safe while always remaining vigilant to prevent scams.”

This came as the authority stepped up promotion of its Money Safe measure, which is designed to help prevent Hong Kong residents from falling victim to scams.

The measure allows customers of 28 retail banks in the city, including digital banks, to partially or fully lock their deposits. Once funds are locked, they cannot be used for any transfers, payments or withdrawals through any channel.

Those who need to access the protected balance must first request to unlock the assets and undergo verification, typically in person at a branch, and wait for one to three business days.

Some banks have already rolled out the service to selected customers in the past few months. As of Dec 15, there were more than 3,200 Money Safe users in the city, protecting about HK$1.6 billion ($206 million) in deposits, with an average of HK$500,000 locked per user.

Yuen said the security tool is suitable for customers across all age groups. For those who intend to keep their money for savings and do not expect to use it in the near term, “using the tool for protection is actually an appropriate approach,” he added.

Rose Kay Lo-hei, acting chairperson of HKAB, said the Money Safe measure can be used not only as an anti-scam measure, but also to protect deposits if customers are worried about their account information being leaked. “You can imagine it as a safety deposit box,” she added.

In the first 10 months of the year, Hong Kong recorded 35,831 fraud and scam cases, resulting in losses of more than HK$6.4 billion — an 8.7 percent decrease over the same period last year, according to the Hong Kong Police Force.

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Though the number has dropped slightly, Yuen urged the public to stay alert and remain cautious against fraud and online scams.

He pledged that the HKMA would continue working with the banking sector, law enforcement agencies, and related stakeholders to combat scams and similar crimes on all fronts.

Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com