TOKYO – A sharp rise in the number of illegal money withdrawals from online bank accounts has been seen in Japan in recent months, according to the National Police Agency.
In November, 573 cases of unauthorized withdrawals from internet banking accounts and money transfers, amounting to 776 million yen ($7 million) in damage, were reported, compared with 105 cases and 67 million yen in August, data released by the agency last week showed.
The Japanese Bankers Association, which shares information with the agency, has been warning users not to open “suspicious” emails or other digital text messages and delete them as soon as possible.
In July, the number of cases totaled 48, and since then it has surged.
A typical trick used by defrauders is sending digital text messages at random and making them look as if they come from banks, requesting users to re-enter their passwords for savings accounts and other personal information for security enhancement.
Such messages are normally designed to lead them to fake websites of online bank operators.
Those phishing sites had even stolen two-factor authentication passwords, enabling cheaters to transfer stolen money to another account in a short time, according to the agency.
© KYODO
