crime

Japan's e-money service fraud widens; 5 other operators involved

28 Comments

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28 Comments
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And so many people trying to convince me to stop using cash. I'll stay old school, thank you.

17 ( +21 / -4 )

If you are concerned!?

1- Do not leave more than a certain amount in your linked bank acct's.

2- Check your acct. balance and activities more frequent.

3- NEVER respond to mail or text messages form sources you don't recognize, even if they sound or look familiar DO NOT respond better yet, DO NOT OPEN them.

4- Do NOT store or save your passwords or personal info. with any browser or even your mobile phone, write your passwords on a card size pad and keep it in a safe place.

5- Good Luck, LOL.

1 ( +9 / -8 )

better yet, DO NOT OPEN them.

opening does no harm.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

4- Do NOT store or save your passwords or personal info. with any browser or even your mobile phone, write your passwords on a card size pad and keep it in a safe place. 

Uh, no thanks. What do you have, like three passwords? I’m inundated with them! Browser saves them for me and makes life a lot easier.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Electronic money - what a joke!

1 ( +9 / -8 )

There is something not right about this story. I think this is an excuse to centralize e-money to Government control. Too much innovation for the tax man to control.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

And so many people trying to convince me to stop using cash. I'll stay old school, thank you.

Diversify, as your "old school" ways will be obsolete in a few years. I remember about 20 years ago the Government told Japanese to trade in their old 10000 for new and improved currency and they set a deadline, after the deadline the currency was worthless. Same will happen with all forms of paper currency. Japan and the world are slowly taking peoples freedom away and it starts with a kill switch controlling your finances. Be smart.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Japan Post's online service is horrid.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Apart from Abe’s ¥100000 in my bank, I have no money to be stolen. We use cash only.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Always difficult to balance usability and security

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Do NOT store or save your passwords or personal info. with any browser or even your mobile phone, write your passwords on a card size pad and keep it in a safe place. "

Uh, no thanks. What do you have, like three passwords? I’m inundated with them! Browser saves them for me and makes life a lot easier.

Feel free to ignore this device if you don't mind getting hacked, losing money on your phone payment services, and then perhaps losing bigger money on important accounts or having all your data on all your devices lost because the hacker has your password and email.

Browser-based password savers are notoriously weak links. At least use a service like Onepass or Lastpass. And keep the master password for those handwritten somewhere. Never save that password on a device anywhere.

Phones are also notorious weak links. I don't conduct any serious financial business or ever enter a credit card on my phone. I keep a hard limit on any phone payment app. This should be just basic stuff.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Always difficult to balance usability and security

BS! There is clear issues in the security design among those companies that basically have designed crappy products. There is no fatality here so that a payment service get spoofed so easily, it's sloppy design period.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Mostly all Japanese I know have short weak passwords, names and birthdays.

They use the same password and pin for all their accounts.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

I never linked my bank accounts, credit cards and e-moneys. This way I can confirm all expenses before actually taking my money out. Never had any problems anyway.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

In the same topic yesterday , I said this is a pervasive problem in many banks, even in my country. Banks are haemoraging cash but they have a reputation to protect. Hence suffer silently. Not that I sympathize with them, especially their usurial charges on everything !!!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I don’t personally see much value in these e-cash businesses. I got used to using cash after moving to Japan. It helped refresh my math ability!

The businesses might prefer it so as to reduce risks around cash handling though I guess.

Mostly all Japanese I know have short weak passwords, names and birthdays.

How do you know that?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

BS! There is clear issues in the security design among those companies that basically have designed crappy products. There is no fatality here so that a payment service get spoofed so easily, it's sloppy design period.

The article made no mention of them so if you could state some of those clear issues they may be of use to us readers

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ANYTHING and everything online can be hacked by those capable of it and with the will and intention to do so. When you use e services or internet the only safe assumption is that one.

I do not use and never will use e banking. As others here, i prefer cash and manual and atm bank transfers.

I had my hotmail hacked before and my company account recently.

e money or cryptocurrencies are an open invitation to fraudsters and criminals.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Diversify, as your "old school" ways will be obsolete in a few years.

Such a weird way of looking at it all. Options are good. Why do some speak against such a simple, established, tried and true one? You go with your option and we would like to go with ours. I like it when my money can survive power outages, solar flares, computer glitches or even a potential EMP weapon of the future. I also like anonymity with my purchases and the constant looking directly at my cash so I know how much I have, rather than finding out my account got partially raided a week or more later.

I suppose consumers like the convenience and security from direct muggings, and the businessmen and government love the tracking (power over us) and reduction of infrastructure. I don't care for any of it, not even reduced infrastructure because that just means fewer jobs.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

yakyakToday  09:35 am JST

And so many people trying to convince me to stop using cash. I'll stay old school, thank you.

Diversify, as your "old school" ways will be obsolete in a few years. I remember about 20 years ago the Government told Japanese ......

Until that day comes......Old School!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I do not see any reason to use these payment systems except PayPal, when paying by credit card is just as easy and the payment is protected by the card issuing company. I only use PayPal at Ebay as it is the only way to purchase from there and again all transfers are guaranteed by PayPal. As for phone security, never allow your phone to connect to WIFI hotspots. As anyone can buy a fake WIFI hotspot at Akihabara.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I don't think it's about e-money or online banking. It is about how the companies/country handles them. Japanese companies have been known to use outdated tech/security standards for years now. In addition, most of the people here don't take security seriously. I mean I've literally seen people store their plain text passwords in the most vulnerable of places.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

My European home country which I

have not visited since 2006 was famous for the 500euro and fround upon credit. I use credit only for emergencies or purchase that will bring an ROI. This cashless system sounds like fraud waiting to happen. I refuse to use it!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Same will happen with all forms of paper currency. Japan and the world are slowly taking peoples freedom away and it starts with a kill switch controlling your finances. Be smart.

I liked the premise of Project Mayhem in Fight Club.... Destroy the credit card companies and erase consumer debt.

Paper is only as good as the promise backing it. Sure, it is more difficult to steal a lot of paper money. If someone steals electronic cash, the government can flip a switch and create more. We call it printing money, but it is only data. National banks buy securities or make loans with electronic cash. Electronics is the modern printing press.

Still, this is a big scandal for like JPY26M. Petty crime compared to some internet hacking heists.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The weaknesses aren't just in the payment systems.

Before fraudsters can link the bank accounts and exploit those systems, they have to know the bank details first.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Just think most people have cellphones, they use the cellphones more than they use their brains. People have become so use to storing passwords on their phones, they have become so brain dead where as they can't remember several passwords. They use one password for everything, because they have a cellphone for a brain, that store everything they need and control their everyday living. People are saving cell phones cells while their brain cells die from lack of use.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Japanese banks don’t help the situation. Recently Japan Post sent requests for “Know your customer” type information by letter requiring you to visit a website which looked dodgy as hell (different URL from the normal URL etc) and enter in depth personal information. Unless you do so, they restrict your account. Sounds totally fishy but it’s genuine. This kind of thing makes it hard for people to know what’s genuine and what’s not

Got the same from SMBC requiring it to be sent back by paper, which is at least better - but I hate all this information gathering in the name of protecting you when really you are just exposing your information.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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