Police searching for those behind ‘BackHomeSafe’ app

Police say they are trying to find those behind a fake LeaveHomeSafe app, as they warned that anyone urging people to use it could find themselves in trouble.

On Monday, police arrested five people on suspicion of trying to enter Immigration Tower using a fake version of the government app, which is designed to help with tracing the contacts of people infected with coronavirus.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, officers said they had taken action to remove a website offering the fake app called “BackHomeSafe”.

Senior inspector Wong Cheung-chun said the force was looking for whoever created it.

“For the developers of the fake application, it’s also one of the directions of our further investigation,” he said.

Wong added that the fake app has a different background colour and font size to the genuine version.

On Monday, it became mandatory for people to use LeaveHomeSafe to enter government buildings including libraries, wet markets and public hospitals.

The five people arrested at Immigration Tower comprised of two immigration officers, a member of staff at the Audit Commission and two contractors.

The Immigration Department and Audit Commission said the relevant staff members have been suspended.