The Insurance Authority (IA) of Hong Kong has issued a notice to the public regarding a deceptive website, https://www.oyos.link.
According to the regulator, the website falsely purports to be the official site of YF Life Insurance International Limited (YF Life). YF Life has verified that it has no connection with this website.
The incident has been reported to the Hong Kong Police Force for further investigation. Individuals who may have submitted personal information or conducted transactions through this fraudulent site are urged to contact YF Life at (852) 2533-5555 and also notify the Hong Kong Police Force.
The IA emphasised that any business conducting insurance activities in or from Hong Kong must be authorised under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41). Its website provides a comprehensive list of all authorised insurers.
Last month, the IA issued a notice regarding a deceptive website that falsely presented itself as an official platform for a legitimate insurance provider in Hong Kong – Newco Insurance Services Limited (Newco). According to the company, the website is not connected to it, with the issue already forwarded to the Hong Kong Police Force for additional examination.
The IA also recently enforced a 14-year licensing ban on a former agent of Prudential Hong Kong Limited following the misappropriation of premiums from four policyholders.
The agent, between March 2017 and March 2019, directed policyholders to send their premium payments to his personal bank account. The total amount transferred was RMB 2,346,237, intended for Prudential, of which only RMB 87,151 was actually remitted to the insurer.
This misappropriation resulted in the lapse of 10 insurance policies due to non-payment, unbeknownst to the policyholders. The agent has since repaid RMB 657,073 to Prudential, facilitating the reinstatement of five of these policies. Prudential is in the process of contacting the affected policyholders of the remaining five lapsed policies to offer support and potential compensation.
Furthermore, the agent hindered a policyholder’s ability to access her online account, which would have allowed her to directly verify her policy status with Prudential.
The IA’s Disciplinary Panel, which decided on a 14-year prohibition, emphasised the need to send a strong deterrent message to industry practitioners.
