Hong Kong people have been vigilant on Internet banking security, but it is in their interests to ensure the precautions they take become habitual.

This advice comes from Monetary Authority Chief Executive Joseph Yam in his latest Viewpoint column on the authority's website.

Rapid growth in Internet banking

At the end of last year there were 2.2 million personal Internet banking accounts in Hong Kong, up 38% from the previous year, and 67,000 business accounts, up 116%.

On average, 4.8 million transactions were processed monthly through personal Internet banking last year, up 38% on the previous year, while 737,000 transactions were processed through business accounts - more than five times the 2002 figure.

"I am glad to say that so far no retail Internet banking customer in Hong Kong is known to have fallen victim to Internet banking fraud," Mr Yam said.

But he warned that Internet banking comes with certain challenges in terms of management of technology risks, as shown by the small yet disturbing number of Internet banking fraud cases reported overseas.

Beware of fake websites & computer viruses

Some of those cases come in the form of fake websites seeking to lure bank customers into divulging confidential personal information.

Other cases can involve Trojan software and other highly infectious computer viruses and worms. In simple terms, Trojan software is a code planted in a personal computer by a fraudster to access the user's personal information. The code can be planted when an unsuspecting user clicks on hyperlinks embedded in e-mails or browses an infected website with pop-up advertisements.

"Once planted in a computer, the Trojan software may be activated when the user accesses certain websites. It can then capture keystrokes of the infected computer, which could in turn lead to leakage of sensitive personal information such as user IDs and passwords," he said.

Useful tips for Internet banking customers

* Users should never access their Internet banking accounts through hyperlinks embedded in emails, suspicious pop-up windows, or Internet search engines;

* users should be wary of opening unexpected emails with attachments and visiting suspicious websites. Instead, they should access their bank accounts by typing the website addresses at the address bar of the browser, or by bookmarking the genuine website and using that function to access their accounts; and,

* users should install personal firewall software and anti-virus software, and should regularly download the latest updates available.

Mr Yam said with the joint efforts of the banking sector, bank customers, the Police and the authority, a safe and sound environment can be preserved for the further development of Internet banking.