Phishing Scam Victimized Over 100 Japanese Hotels

Above, the front desk of an Atami ryokan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Over 100 Japanese hotels have fallen victim to a phishing scam involving Booking.com.

Kyodo News reported:

TOKYO - Over 100 hotels in Japan have fallen victim to email scams that try to steal customers' credit card information using accommodation reservation site Booking.com, a Kyodo News tally found Saturday.

Some of the hotels said their customers lost money after the fraudsters stole their card details. The Japan Tourism Agency has instructed Booking.com Japan K.K., the Japanese unit of the major lodging booking site operator, to conduct a full investigation.

Booking.com Japan declined to comment on the financial damage. 

The phishing scams come as similar cases are reported worldwide, and Japan sees a return to booming tourism levels after COVID-19 border restrictions were lifted.

With the help of anonymous cybersecurity specialist Piyokango, the Kyodo News count found that as of March 26, some 118 accommodation businesses in at least 21 prefectures have been affected since June last year.

Fraudsters send emails to Japanese hotels to access their Booking.com management system. The email contains a link, which infects a computer once clicked.

Personally, whenever I have traveled to Japan, I book rooms directly with the hotels. 

To read the full article, go here.

2106 Back Taxes

First, there were emails from purported "Nigerian Princes", and now it is the "IRS" sending emails concerning delinquent "back taxes".

I received one the other day. It said, "2106 Back Taxes". I didn't bother to open the email.

Obviously, this was bogus as the email address wasn't an official government one. Plus, the year was almost 100 years off.

So, beware of bogus IRS "back taxes" email notices. As for this Bozo, who sent me this one for "back taxes" for the year 2106, I guess they'll have to wait a while.

Fraud Alert!

Folks, there's a lot of crooks out there just trying to make a fast buck off of you. Two instances of fraud came to my attention yesterday.

First, I found that someone got a hold of my ATM card number and charged $95 on it. Luckily, I have it set up with my bank to send me notices on activities on my accounts.

It was a charge at some gas station somewhere in San Fernando. Well, I haven't been in San Fernando for at least six months. The last time I was anywhere in the vicinity was to pick up the Adventures of Superman plaque, and I didn't even buy gasoline at the time while there.

I notified the bank of this bogus charge and they will be taking immediate action on it including "killing" the ATM card so they can't use that anymore.

The second involves someone trying phish my PayPal account by sending an email asking me to "update" my bank accounts that are set up at PayPal. This happened before (a few months ago) and I sent PayPal a notice to their fraud investigation unit. They confirmed that it was a phishing attempt.

The crooks try to trick you by sending official-looking emails to get you to reveal your password or other personal information. They also use fake websites.

I again notified PayPal and they confirmed that it was a phishing attempt and they will take immediate action. My PayPal account has not been compromised in any way.

If you receive notice that someone's trying to rip off your bank accounts and/or trying to phish you, you should protect yourself immediately by notifying the bank and the anti-fraud departments. In doing so, you may help prevent future crimes against someone else by these good-for-nothing weasels and get their asses thrown in prison.