Scams to Hijack Securities Accounts on Rise in Japan

   Tokyo, April 17 (Jiji Press)--Many in Japan have recently fallen victim to scams in which their online securities accounts are hijacked and used to trade shares, possibly for market manipulation by criminal groups.
   Securities houses are urging customers to beware of such scams. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission is closely monitoring the market.
   The problem came to light when Rakuten Securities Inc. made a related announcement late last month. It has been discovered also at industry peers including Nomura Securities Co. and SBI Securities Co.
   According to the companies, criminal groups lead victims to fake websites that mimic the companies' real websites to steal their user identification codes and passwords by utilizing a method called phishing. The groups then use the obtained information to log in to accounts and buy and sell shares.
   Fraudulent trades mainly involved foreign stocks at first, prompting Rakuten Securities and others to briefly suspend buy orders for Chinese stocks. The illicit activity soon spread to Japanese stocks, however, leading to suspensions in trading of some issues.

(2025/04/17-13:14)