{"id":6823,"date":"2026-01-05T14:43:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/?p=6823"},"modified":"2026-01-05T14:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:44:13","slug":"unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Arthur Chan and Jasmine Kwong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hong Kong, 5 January 2026:<\/strong> In a landmark case<\/a>, a so-called finfluencer has received the first custodial sentence in Hong Kong for providing investment advice without a licence. The hearing highlights the perils of unlawful financial guidance from online sources and the determination of enforcement agencies \u2013 both here and overseas \u2013 to tackle the growing problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finfluencers, short for financial influencers, are individuals who leverage social media platforms to promote financial products and share insights and advice with their followers. While some legitimately give financial tips to large audiences, some stray into illegal activity. This can include lack of authorisation \u2013 for example, operating without a licence from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) \u2013 or failure to adequately explain the risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the recent case, arising from a criminal prosecution brought by the SFC, the finfluencer was convicted at Eastern Magistrates\u2019 Court for providing investment advice via a subscription-based chat group on Telegram that he hosted without a licence. He circulated commentaries, recommendations and target prices on various securities and responded to questions raised by subscribers. He was sentenced to six weeks\u2019 imprisonment and ordered to pay the SFC\u2019s investigation costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an earlier case<\/a> at the same court, another finfluencer was also convicted of providing unlawful investment advice via a subscription-based chat group. While he was a licensed representative of a securities firm, the court heard that he operated the chat group in a personal capacity. He was fined HK$10,000, ordered to pay the SFC\u2019s investigation costs and had his SFC licence suspended for 16 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finfluencers are a global phenomenon, increasingly exposing social media users to risk by illegally promoting financial products and services, often exploiting users\u2019 online habits. A 2024 survey by wealth management firm Charles Schwab studied the investment habits of Gen Z and found that 38% had found financial information from YouTube while 33% had done so from TikTok. Further, research from British bank Barclays last year found over 53% place their money at risk by not always carrying out checks to verify the content\u2019s reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many finfluencers operate from the same playbook. They display their riches and post about successful investment decisions, often made in hindsight to create a false impression of foresight, and promise to teach subscribers how to replicate their success. While some are legitimate operators, some promote products and services illegally and without authorisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, the resolve of the SFC and its overseas counterparts to combat unlawful activity. Last summer, the Hong Kong body joined regulators in the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy and United Arab Emirates in a week-long initiative<\/a> against unlawful finfluencers. Together, they will use a combination of supervisory and enforcement powers, educational programmes and consumer awareness campaigns to highlight the risks to investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from prosecuting unlicensed finfluencers, the SFC assesses securities brokers\u2019 compliance with regulations when they work with such individuals and issues guidance to licensed corporations outlining expected standards. It also pushes social media platforms to remove suspect posts, delete fake profiles and refrain from promoting unauthorised investment products. A concerted effort to educate the public and enhance awareness of online scams is being made through a mass-media campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While acknowledging the legitimacy of finfluencers equipped with an SFC licence, the public are cautioned to be wary of those who are not. Investors should verify finfluencers\u2019 regulatory status, exercise caution when considering their advice, and ensure that they fully understand the risks of investment opportunities touted via social media before making any financial commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur Chan is a Partner with BC&C. He specialises in Criminal Litigation, being a Recommended Criminal Lawyer in the Doyles Guide rankings, and has a strong record in cyber fraud recovery claims. As well, he develops a broad range of civil and commercial litigation such as immigration, personal injuries and employment issues. He can be contacted at <\/strong>Arthur@boasecohencollins.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jasmine Kwong is an Associate Solicitor at BC&C, developing her practice in both criminal and civil litigation. She is involved in cases across various areas of law, including fraud recovery claims, contractual disputes, employees\u2019 compensation, personal injury claims, defamation, and matrimonial matters. She can be contacted at <\/strong>jasmine@boasecohencollins.com<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Arthur Chan and Jasmine Kwong Hong Kong, 5 January 2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-53"],"yoast_head":"\nUnlawful finfluencers feel the heat - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_TW\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Arthur Chan and Jasmine Kwong Hong Kong, 5 January 2 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-05T06:43:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-05T06:44:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1833\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"867\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Niall Donnelly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005:\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Niall Donnelly\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9810\u4f30\u95b1\u8b80\u6642\u9593\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 \u5206\u9418\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/\",\"name\":\"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-05T06:43:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-05T06:44:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-TW\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-TW\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg\",\"width\":1833,\"height\":867},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/\",\"name\":\"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c\",\"description\":\"2018\u53ca2019\u5e74\u5ea6\u6700\u4f73\u8a34\u8a1f\u53ca\u722d\u8b70\u89e3\u6c7a\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-TW\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5\",\"name\":\"Niall Donnelly\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-TW\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Niall Donnelly\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/","og_locale":"zh_TW","og_type":"article","og_title":"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c","og_description":"By Arthur Chan and Jasmine Kwong Hong Kong, 5 January 2 […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/","og_site_name":"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c","article_published_time":"2026-01-05T06:43:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-05T06:44:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1833,"height":867,"url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Niall Donnelly","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005:":"Niall Donnelly","\u9810\u4f30\u95b1\u8b80\u6642\u9593":"4 \u5206\u9418"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/","url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/","name":"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat - \u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-05T06:43:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-05T06:44:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-TW","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-TW","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Finfluencers_PHOTO.jpg","width":1833,"height":867},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/%e7%b6%b2%e8%aa%8c\/unlawful-finfluencers-feel-the-heat\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Unlawful finfluencers feel the heat"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/","name":"\u5e03\u9ad8\u6c5f\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c","description":"2018\u53ca2019\u5e74\u5ea6\u6700\u4f73\u8a34\u8a1f\u53ca\u722d\u8b70\u89e3\u6c7a\u5f8b\u5e2b\u884c","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-TW"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#\/schema\/person\/5b77a07b7692a02ba65ff29d05c8f3b5","name":"Niall Donnelly","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-TW","@id":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/54b15b260b9ed40d8e860705893b81f8cd72e1f211fea70f35ec1dcafc686171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Niall Donnelly"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6825,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6823\/revisions\/6825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boasecohencollins.com\/zh-hant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}