The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong is joining regulators across the globe to curb activities of unlawful financial influencers (finfluencers) who are putting millions of social media users at risk by touting financial products or services illegally.

The SFC and other members of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) are participating in the “Global Week of Action Against Unlawful Finfluencers” during the week of 2 June 2025.

This initiative involves regulators using a combination of supervisory and enforcement powers to disrupt illegal activities of finfluencers, coupled with educational schemes and consumer awareness programmes to remind investors the risk of investing after encountering misleading content from finfluencers.

Ms Julia Leung, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the IOSCO Asia-Pacific Regional Committee, said:

“As part of our education efforts, we must emphasise the importance of personal responsibility. Investors should serve as their own first line of defence by verifying the regulatory status and trustworthiness of the finfluencers, critically evaluating any investment ideas from them, and conducting thorough due diligence on any prospective investments before committing.”

On the supervisory front, the SFC commenced a thematic inspection in April 2025 to assess securities brokers’ compliance with applicable regulatory requirements when engaging finfluencers and digital platforms to market financial products and services. The scope of the inspection ranged from reviewing selected securities brokers’ due diligence to evaluating their monitoring of finfluencers and digital platforms to ensure that they are not involved in any unlicensed activities or improper practices.

As part of its supervisory efforts, the SFC plans to issue guidance to licensed corporations outlining expected standards when engaging finfluencers and digital platforms for marketing purposes.

The SFC has undertaken a broad array of enforcement actions against unlawful finfluencer activities, including suspending the licence of a finfluencer who was criminally convicted for providing investment advice via a chat group beyond the scope of his licence, as well as commencing criminal prosecution against another finfluencer for unlicensed regulated activities.

As part of its pro-active regulatory efforts, the SFC pressed an overseas virtual asset trading platform to stop targeting the Hong Kong public by terminating affiliate arrangements with finfluencers, as well as engaging social media platforms to remove social media posts and profiles impersonating public figures and promoting unauthorised investment products.

The regulator also disrupted an event conducted by unlawful finfluencers through a search operation, during and after which it issued cease-and-desist letters to these finfluencers.

The SFC has been warning the public about scammers impersonating or posing as finfluencers on social media through its long-established Alert List system and encouraged them to utilise IOSCO’s newly revamped global warning system, the International Securities & Commodities Alerts Network (I-SCAN).

As part of its ongoing “Don’t be Sucker” anti-scam publicity campaign, the SFC cautions the public against finfluencer-related pitfalls and other common investment scam tactics through, among others, an original theme music video and numerous posts on its dedicated anti-scam Instagram page, above-the-line advertisements, seminars for the industry and the investing public and community outreach.

Other IOSCO members participating in the “Global Week of Action Against Unlawful Finfluencers” are:

• Alberta Securities Commission, Alberta, Canada
• Autorité des marchés financiers, Quebec, Canada
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australia
• British Columbia Securities Commission, Canada
• Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa, Italy
• Financial Conduct Authority, United Kingdom
• Ontario Securities Commission, Ontario, Canada
• Securities and Commodities Authority, United Arab Emirates.