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Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
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Fake LeaveHomeSafe resurfaced on internet
A website that can act as a fake LeaveHomeSafe app has resurfaced after it was removed by police earlier.
The fake LeaveHomeSafe app, "BackHomeSafe" is a website which allows users to “go anywhere they want” -- they only need to type in the address of the place they are visiting and the website will generate a page resembling an authentic LeaveHomeSafe record. The page contains the date and time of entry.
The fake “app” also comes with the function of QR code scanning. Like using the real app, people can scan the codes displayed in premises -- cheating staffers of restaurants and other premises who usually check whether their patrons use the app before they get in.
On November 1, five government employees were arrested for using a fake LeaveHomeSafe app to enter Immigration Tower in Wan Chai. They were two civil servants and two contract employees at the Immigration Department, as well as another civil servant at the Audit Commission. Four of them were found be have used the fake app.
On the day after their arrests, police announced that its cybercrime unit removed the fake app from the internet. But it became available on search engines again recently.
Sources said the police cybercrime unit conducts regular online searches. If they spot the fake app, they would request the online platforms to delete it and investigate who uploaded it online.
The fake “app” also comes with the function of QR code scanning. Like using the real app, people can scan the codes displayed in premises -- cheating staffers of restaurants and other premises who usually check whether their patrons use the app before they get in.
On November 1, five government employees were arrested for using a fake LeaveHomeSafe app to enter Immigration Tower in Wan Chai. They were two civil servants and two contract employees at the Immigration Department, as well as another civil servant at the Audit Commission. Four of them were found be have used the fake app.
On the day after their arrests, police announced that its cybercrime unit removed the fake app from the internet. But it became available on search engines again recently.
Sources said the police cybercrime unit conducts regular online searches. If they spot the fake app, they would request the online platforms to delete it and investigate who uploaded it online.
