Police Commissioner Raymond Siu Chak-yee said on Thursday that residents in some cases risk losing their savings to scams, urging them to use the anti-scam mobile app and police hotline if they have doubts or received suspicious messages.

“The reason why we are putting so much effort into holding an anti-scam sweepstakes, rolling out another round after the first, is because we hope everyone can make full use of these tools,” Siu said during the a prize giving ceremony for the winners of the draw.

“Preserving a minute or two could save you from losing your hard-earned life savings to despicable scammers.”

The police chief was referring to the police’s anti-cheating hotline and its Scameter app which flags suspicious websites, phone numbers and bank accounts.

Superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching of the police’s cybersecurity and technological crime bureau said the app had been downloaded an additional 170,000 times since the draw was launched late last month.