By TOSHIKI HORIGOME/ Staff Writer
May 9, 2025 at 18:04 JST
The Japan Securities Dealers Association warns on its website of a growing crisis involving hijacked brokerage accounts. (Wataru Sekita)
Unauthorized stock market trades using hijacked brokerage accounts have soared in recent weeks, surpassing 304.9 billion yen ($2.08 billion) in value as of the end of April, the Financial Services Agency said.
In a statement released on May 8, the FSA reported 3,505 cases of illicit transactions, a 2.4-fold increase from its previous update on April 16.
Trading volume in the unauthorized dealings jumped 3.2-fold over that period.
Hackers have gained access to the securities accounts by stealing login credentials often through phishing scams.
Posing as the legitimate clients, the cybercriminals often sell shares held in the account and use the proceeds to buy stocks in Chinese firms or thinly traded Japanese equities.
This coordinated buying is believed to be part of a market manipulation scheme aimed at driving up prices for financial gain.
The hackers’ schemes have become increasingly sophisticated. In some cases, they steal clients’ identities by sending fake emails warning victims about phishing scams, mimicking the very alerts that legitimate securities firms use to protect their clients.
Nine major Japanese brokerages have been affected: Rakuten Securities Inc.; SBI Securities Co.; Nomura Securities Co.; Daiwa Securities Co.; SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.; Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.; Monex Inc.; Matsui Securities Co.; and Mitsubishi UFJ eSmart Securities Co.
The total is up by three from the previous tally.
The number of cases surged from just 39 in January and 33 in February to 687 in March and a staggering 2,746 in April.
Of the 304.9 billion yen in unauthorized transactions, 161.2 billion yen was for sell orders and 143.7 billion yen involved buy orders.
Ninety percent of the activity occurred in April.
In some instances, illicitly purchased shares remained in the hijacked accounts, meaning that actual financial losses were not reflected in the total transaction value.
However, some victims reportedly suffered damages reaching tens of millions of yen.
In response to the escalating problem, the Japan Securities Dealers Association has announced that 10 of its member firms plan to offer partial compensation to affected clients.
Authorities are urging brokerages to strengthen authentication measures for securities accounts by combining at least two security features, such as one-time passwords and biometric verification.
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