The scams involve multiple steps, say police: Chinese gangs hack into Japanese bank accounts by tricking customers into opening malicious software or disclosing their passwords. They steal the money by transferring it to other accounts in Japan, then hire people who live in the country to withdraw the cash at ATMs. Those people deliver the money to colleagues in Japan who use it to buy goods that are shipped to China. There the products are sold, with the proceeds going to the ringleaders.
Japan’s biggest banks—Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho Financial Group (MFG)—are alerting customers about the increase in online theft and compensating victims on a case-by-case basis, say spokesmen for the three companies. The country is an easy target because of its wealth and proximity to China, as well as lack of experience dealing with computer hacking, says Hiroshi Koide, an associate professor of artificial intelligence at Kyushu Institute of Technology. “Japanese people and companies aren’t very sophisticated when it comes to computer security,” says Koide, who advises the Fukuoka Prefectural Police on cybercrime countermeasures. “Japan’s huge assets ensure big profits.”
In Japan, many of the people arrested are the foot soldiers who withdraw cash for their bosses. “They’re usually exchange students and trainees from China” who accept employment without realizing they’re committing a crime, says Eguchi. “They think it’s just a part-time job.”