Date: 30 December 2022
Privacy Commissioner’s Office Commences Compliance Check into a Data Breach Involving Hong Kong Golden Forum Members
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) received a notification from the Hong Kong Golden Forum in the evening of 29 December, informing the PCPD that the personal data of a considerable number of members of the Hong Kong Golden Forum had been put on dark web for sale. Having considered the significant number of data subjects involved, the PCPD has immediately commenced a compliance check into the incident, including ascertaining the details of the incident and the personal data involved, etc.
The PCPD appeals to citizens who have registered as members of the relevant forum to be vigilant about potential theft of their personal data. If they are in doubt about whether their personal data have been leaked, they may make enquiries with the platform concerned or the PCPD (telephone: 2827 2827 or email:
communications@pcpd.org.hk). To protect personal data privacy, affected citizens are also advised to take the following measures: -
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Change the passwords of the relevant accounts. Where necessary, change the passwords and email addresses of accounts of other social media platforms;
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Beware of any unusual logins of any registered accounts and personal emails;
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Stay vigilant when they receive any suspicious calls, text messages or emails from unknown sources, do not open the attachment or disclose their personal data arbitrarily; and
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Be vigilant against phishing emails or other possible scams.