Value of damages caused by online banking fraud in Japan 2013-2020

The amount of money lost through damages caused by online banking fraud in Japan amounted to 1.13 billion Japanese yen in 2020. This figure was less than half of the damages recorded in the previous year.

Surge in online banking frauds in 2019

The amount of money lost due to online banking fraud in Japan decreased between 2016 and 2018 due to improved security measures at financial institutions. However, a surge in the number of online banking fraud cases were detected in 2019, with many cases being related to SMS messages and e-mails that impersonated trusted institutions and led customers to phishing websites. Next to cases involving institutions such as banks, there were also cases confirmed in which victims were led to phishing websites via messages impersonating home delivery services and online shopping services. In some instances, fraudulent apps were installed on smartphones. Next to fraudulent remittances, methods involving crypto-assets, electronic money, and the charging of prepaid cards were also confirmed. A breakdown of online banking fraud victims showed that the overwhelming majority of victims in 2019 were individual persons.

Cyber crime as a challenge

As the internet has become increasingly important in people’s daily lives and the spread of smartphones has made mobile internet access highly convenient, crimes using the internet have become a major challenge for Japanese law enforcers. While Japan had been criticized earlier for a lack of measures, the Tokyo Olympics as well as the government vision of an increasingly interconnected “Society 5.0” provided an important impetus to improve cyber security in the country. The number of cleared cyber crime cases gradually increased since the mid-2010s. Crimes involving financial damages include a variety of offenses, such as violations of the copyright law, frauds, and ransomware. According to a survey, a large proportion of Japanese companies have experienced damage of some sort due to cyber crimes, which also presents a market opportunity for companies offering protection measures.