Tradelink participated in one session of the “Commercial Crime Investigation Advanced Course” on 10 December 2025. This 3-day programme, organised by the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) from 10 to 12 December, aims to empower participants with cutting-edge techniques and collaborative insights to effectively address evolving commercial crime challenges. Tradelink’s Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Andrew Cheng, was invited as a guest speaker for the course.
Andrew delivered a keynote session titled “Inside Today’s Fraud Landscape: From Fraud as a Service to Deepfake Enabled Identity Attacks” to an audience of approximately 50 distinguished attendees. The session brought together law enforcement representatives invited from the CCB for sharing insights and best practices to effectively address evolving commercial crime challenges.
During his presentation, Andrew provided an in-depth analysis of the current fraud landscape, describing how the industry has entered a “Golden Age of Fraud”. He introduced the concept of Fraud-as-a-Service (FaaS), explaining how latest cybercrime has industrialised. Andrew highlighted that criminal syndicates have now categorised their operations into specialised service providers—offering everything from high-quality digital templates for forgeries to “turnkey” identity theft solutions—allowing even non-technical criminals to launch scalable attacks.
A key focus of the session was the rapid evolution of Deepfake threats and AI-generated synthetic media. Andrew demonstrated how fraudsters leverage readily available technology and injection attacks to circumvent traditional video identification systems.
To counter these threats, Andrew shared Tradelink’s expertise in mobile security and identity management, outlining advanced defence strategies including:
- Enhanced Verification Methods: The importance of “Liveness Detection” (Advanced Presentation Attack Detection) and AI facial age verification.
- The “Face Watchlist”: A systematic cross-application check that identifies multiple fraudulent attempts across different services using AI facial recognition to flag suspicious patterns.
- Step-Up Document Verification: Utilising NFC chip-based verification for second documents (such as ICAO-compliant e-passports) to ensure authenticity.
- Deepfake Detection: Comprehensive deepfake defence requires businesses to deploy AI tools and multi-factor safeguards, individuals to exercise extreme caution with urgent digital communications, and policymakers to strengthen regulations and invest in detection infrastructure.
The session served as a platform for exchanging practical experiences between technology experts and the frontline investigators combatting financial crime. Tradelink remains committed to working closely with law enforcement and regulatory bodies to stay ahead of emerging digital threats and secure Hong Kong’s financial ecosystem.
