Under the pandemic, members of the public have accustomed to handling everyday life, working and socialising through the Internet. Unfortunately, this has contributed to the sharp rise in technology crime in Hong Kong. In order to raise awareness of technology crime and tackle the new challenges arising from the pandemic, the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) has organised the territory-wide campaign “Cyberthon 2021”, with the theme “Go Cyber, Go Smart”, to deliver cyber security messages to the community through different channels.

“Cyberthon 2021” was kick-started by a special television series “Cybercrime Express”. The six-episode series explored different cyber security and technology crime topics, including phishing attacks, business email compromise, Internet of Things security, WhatsApp hijacking, romance scams and naked chat blackmail. The series was broadcast on free-to-air channels in late January, and is also available on the Force’s social media platforms.

CSTCB also dispatched the “StreetCast” advertising truck to 21 police districts in late January. Officers of Police Community Relations Offices, District Fight Crime Committee members, Area Committee members, District Council members and Junior Police Call Honorary Presidents from various districts joined the truck in hotspots in different locations across Hong Kong, playing anti-crime videos and distributing publicity materials to the public.

Divisional Commander of Tuen Mun Division Mak Bo-Yin (first left), Chairman of Tuen Mun District Fight Crime Committee Mr Lee Hung-sham (second left) and officers take part in the publicity campaign to promote cyber security.