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The National Police Agency (NPA) says that an increasing number of users logging on to Internet banking websites in Japan are being plagued by false pop-up windows requesting account holders' private information.
According to NPA statistics, 230 cases of attempted fraud, also known as "phishing," were reported on web pages belonging to banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumishin SBI and Rakuten Bank, TBS reported. Of those cases, two were successful in extracting private information, such as PIN numbers, which was then used to steal money.
Police are urging the public to remember that information like passwords and PIN numbers are strictly confidential and should therefore never be divulged.
Bank security guidelines suggest that Internet banking customers do not click on any link which has come through e-mail from an unexpected source, do not provide any information on a page which might have come up as a pop-up window and do not provide passwords over the phone or in response to unsolicited e-mail requests.
© Japan Today
14 Comments
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WilliB
Fadamor:
No, it does not. It takes you to a fake page, along the lines of: www.your_bank.com.your_friend_russian_scammer.php
All you need to do is look at the link to see that it is fake. And it does not take a rocket scientist to do that.
TokyoGas
The banks that provide internet banking should also provide a One-Time-Password (OTP) to be send the account holders telephone for money transfers. This would decrease the incidents of accounts being drained by criminals. If an account holder wants to be able to transfer funds to anything other than utilities (phone, gas, electric, water) he/she should be required to sign up for the online transfer service at the bank.
lostrune2
Do not click on links - type the URL address directly.
Use HTTPS in the address and make sure the website security report (like VeriSign) identifies the website properly.
Always have a good up-to-date internet security.
Don't do it over public Wi-Fi or public computer.
Fadamor
Phishing has been going on ever since online banking started. It usually starts with an email warning about some dire consequence that is about to happen to your account if you don't do something with it immediately by clicking on the link "helpfully provided below". Clicking on the link takes you to the "bank's" account login page where you dutifully enter your account login and password. The screen strangely flashes one time before actually loading your account data. What you didn't know is that the bogus login page recorded your data, then quickly logged you into the bank's actual website so that you wouldn't be suspicious that something bad happened.
The way to 100% thwart phishing attacks is to never use the links provided in emails. If you are using a particular bank for online banking, then only access that bank directly by typing in their address in your browser. If you receive an email threatening something as serious as affecting your money, you can assume it to be fraud. Banks generally send such information via snail mail because email delivery is not 100% guaranteed.
Whenever I get one of those emails (that managed to get by the spam filter), I exclaim, "OH NOEZ!" and immediately click on the link and type in my login information - Login Name: InYourDreams Login Password: HowStupidDoYouThinkIAm
WilliB
Phishing is the internet form of Darwinism.
How long does it really take took at the full URL in a browser and see where it leads? Those who are not able to do that should really not do internetbanking (and probably not handle their own finances anyway...)
wavelength
@cleo Thank you. I guess checking what has come in and out is worth sitting at home, instead of running to the bank with your passbook and do a passbook update once a month. And yes, my earlier message was regarding 2 accounts (Mitsui Sumitomo) at 2 different branches in Tokyo. I can't remember the amount charged but they said to transfer funds between accounts would cost ~3,000 yen if under 100,000. Free if over.
bajhista65
PHISING.... used to steal money from banks etc..etc... Easy to eradicate.... hehehehehe Make the crime punishable by death. LETHAL INJECTION.
tairitsuiken
Internet banking is great.
Pay your bills, transfer money, check your cards. Nowadays, when we all have smartphones, it has gotten even better and more mobile.
Japan still has not taken advantage of the full potential of it, though. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that many older (over 50 in this country) people can't imagine doing things digitally. Hence them still using an old fashioned bank book.
cleo
And wavelength, if your bank charges for internet transfers to and from accounts within the same bank - you need to change your bank. Transfers to other banks are also cheaper online than either the ATM or the teller.
cleo
Check that funds have come in.
Check that funds have gone out.
Check that there's enough left.
Move funds from an account where there's plenty left to one where there isn't enough left.
Send funds to penniless student kids (thankfully no longer necessary)
Do it all from the comfort of home, especially when it's cold & wet outside and there's other stuff to do.
wavelength
@JapanGal What do you do with internet banking? I, too, have it but have never used it. I often transfer funds from 1 account to the other, by going to an ATM with passbooks and bank cards in hand. The other day, while talking to a bank clerk, and thinking my life will be easier doing this fund transfer at home, asked if I can do that online, and the clerk said, of course, but a fee will be incurred if the transfer is anything less than 100,000 yen. wt...?
Equality
I think the key is for banks to educate their customers by posting big, bold warnings on their websites which alert people to these (and other) scams. The reason they don't often do this (I suspect) is to avoid scaring people away from online banking, which is more cost effective (and thus, provides bigger profits) for banks.
nath
I like internet banking.
kolohe
The prevention is not to sign up for internet banking as it just opens to doors to such scams.