Japanese companies are facing quickly growing threats of so-called business executive scams, or CEO fraud, in which email directives are issued by those pretending to be top executives of target companies.
Small and medium-sized firms tend to fall prey, as executives and rank-and-file employees are closely knit there compared with larger companies.
So far, a company has been swindled out of more than 100 million yen.
Against the background, the National Police Agency is calling for vigilance through the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other channels.
According to the NPA, police across the country were asked to give advice by victims of the masquerading in 39 cases in a month from mid-December and found that some 540 million yen was stolen in 16 cases in total.
Common tactics include sending fake emails under the name of the president or chairperson to accounting staff, ordering them to create chat groups to discuss with “new business partners” or to carry out “new projects,” and eventually tricking the target firms into transferring funds to designated bank accounts.
In the case of a material supplier in the Kanto eastern region late last month, the company paid about 30 million yen after exchanging chat messages through a Line group account set up by an employee.
The Line group’s quick-response, or QR, code was provided to the swindler following a fake president’s message sent to the company’s business email address.
The agency said email addresses and the names of corporate representatives on official websites are believed to be used in such business email compromise scams, which are aimed at stealing a large sum of money in fictitious deals.
“Each company should review rules for transferring funds online, as well as for issuing business orders via social media,” an NPA official said. “And if a presidential directive sounds dubious, its legitimacy should be confirmed directly with the president,” the official stressed.