Examples of Financial Crimes and Countermeasures
Various examples of crimes, scams and other illegal activity, which attempt to access deposits and personal information, are posted as well as ways to prevent such activity.
Selling/Buying and Assignment of Accounts
The unauthorized use or assignment of an account is prohibited by law.
Lists of people who have engaged in selling, assigning or lending bank accounts are shared among financial institutions.
If you appear on these lists, your account may be frozen or your request for opening a new account may be refused.
If this happens, you will not be able to have an account to be used to receive a salary, in which case a job offer you receive might be cancelled.
Selling and buying bank accounts constitutes (1) fraud or (2) violation of the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds . If you are found to have committed such act, you might be arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to punishment.
- (1)Fraud is a crime committed by an act of defrauding another person of property(Article 246, paragraph (1) of the Penal Code), punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years. Having a bank issue a passbook or cash card while concealing the purpose of selling an account is equal to defrauding the bank, and such act constitutes the crime of fraud. If you are found to have committed the sale of an account, you might be held responsible for the crime of fraud.
- (2)The Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds (APTCP) aims to prevent the transfer of criminal proceeds. The APTCP requires financial institutions to verify the customer’s identification information and purpose of transaction when opening a bank account. Under the APTCP, acts such as concluding a deposit/savings contract with a financial institution while pretending to be another person is punishable (Article 28) by imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine of not more than one million yen. In addition, if you assign a deposit/savings passbook to another person while knowing that the person has the intention to sell an account, or provide another person with information necessary for withdrawal or deposit of money, such as the PIN for the account or the ID or password for internet banking, you will be subject to punishment. Even in the case of an account you acquired for a legitimate purpose, if you sell the account due to inducement by a fraudulent agent, your act will fall under this provision on punishment.
Selling an account just to get money would ruin your life.
Cases in which Customers Are Unintentionally Involved in Money Laundering
Beware of side jobs offered through social media or peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions in cryptoassets.
There are cases in which our customers have been made to receive criminal money into their accounts and thus unintentionally involved in money laundering.
Some customers have been unintentionally involved in criminal conduct and subject to police investigation.
- Examples:
- A customer was instructed to conduct transactions in the name of a side job such as “accounting work” or “supporting sale of used items” and was made to pay and receive criminal money via their account.
A customer was paid with criminal money when selling cryptoassets in P2P transactions.
When you accept a side job or conduct P2P transactions, closely check the counterparty and be careful about transactions with a stranger.
We may restrict your transactions when there is suspicion that criminal money was paid into your account even though it was not your intention. In such case, you are required to prove in writing that the money paid into your account is not criminal money.
Transactions in cryptoassets conducted in the course of trade without registration are restricted by the Payment Services Act. We may also restrict your transactions when there is such suspicion.
Spyware
"Spyware" is a software that uses the internet or email to access a person's PC without the user knowing or realizing in order to gather personal information input into the PC and send said information to a third party via the internet.
Spyware Countermeasures
- (1) We recommend that you try to avoid inadvertently opening any unknown emails, etc.
- (2) Be particularly careful when downloading free software.
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(3)
We also recommend that you also use antivirus software as a countermeasure against spyware.
Contact the Contact Center in the event that you discover a suspicious transaction.
[Contact Us]
- [Related Information]
Phishing Scams
A phishing scam is an illegal act of attempting to acquire personal information by masquerading as a trustworthy entity through an email from a company such as a bank, having the email recipient access a false website of said company that is real and having said user enter their ID or password for that website.
Seven Bank shall never ask the customer via email or other means, as described above, for the customer's cash card PIN, IDs or passwords. In addition, there are never any circumstances in which all of the confirmation number is entered (2 digit number input only for 2 places). In the event that you receive a suspicious email or information using the name of Seven Bank, contact the Contact Center.
[Contact Us]
Make sure that Direct Banking Service transactions are conducted on the actual Seven Bank website in order to avoid falling victim to phishing scams.
- Related Information
Seven Bank Countermeasures for Phishing Scams
Seven Bank uses "RSA® Fraud Action (TM) Anti-Phishing Service," provided by EMC Japan Corp., which forces the closure of phishing websites in order to swiftly block or close down a false website (phishing websites) that masquerades as Seven Bank Direct Banking Service.
Checking Address Bar Display
■Our Website
Check the URL to make sure that it is in fact the Seven Bank website. To securely access the Seven Bank website, enter the following into your browser: http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/
■Direct Banking Service
There is always a lock mark displayed on the top or bottom of the page indicating that the communication is protected with SSL encryption when information such as customer ID or password input is required for transactions on the Seven Bank website. Click on the lock mark, and make sure that the "publishing address" for the displayed certificate is: ib.sevenbank.co.jp
■Some New Account Applications (such as applying for a Seven Bank account with International Money Transfer Service)
There is always a lock mark displayed on the top or bottom of the page indicating that the communication is protected with SSL encryption when information such as customer ID or password input is required for transactions on the Seven Bank website. Click on the lock mark, and make sure that the "publishing address" for the displayed certificate is: entry.sevenbank.co.jp
- Related Information
Unauthorized Pop-up Messages
When logging onto Internet Banking, there is information about previous cases in which unauthorized pop-up windows are displayed that attempt to make the customer enter personal information such as a PIN. Take the necessary precautions because similar events may occur caused by the customer's computer being infected by a virus, etc.
The Seven Bank Internet Banking will never have the customer only enter the confirmation number that is printed on the back of the cash card at the logon page and the page directly after logging on. In addition, Seven Bank will never have the customer enter all numbers in the confirmation number.
Seven Bank will always have the customer only enter a 2 digit confirmation number in 2 places at the page to confirm transaction details or request details.
Never enter personal information such as a PIN, even when an unofficial page is displayed.
If a false screen is displayed or if you inadvertently enter information
Immediately contact Seven Bank if this type of page is displayed even once, or if you inadvertently enter your confirmation number, etc.
- * Always contact Seven Bank even if you close the false page without entering your confirmation number, etc., because there is a high probability that information inside your PC was taken.
- [Countermeasures]
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・ Integration of Antivirus Software
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・ OS and Browser Patches
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Bank Transfer Scams
"Bank transfer scams" is a general term for "Hey it's me" scams, "Fraudulent request for funds" scams, "Financing and security deposit" scams and "Refund" scams, etc.
For example, a person calls on the telephone masquerading as someone else, such as a family member, relative, police officer or lawyer, and provides a plausible explanation, such as settlement money for a traffic accident or groping incident, investigation of a criminal case, or debt payment, in order to lure you into transferring money or cryptoassets.
Among these scams, recently there is an increase in victims of scams in which the victim is threatened by a person posing as police about the freezing of assets due to criminal suspicion and is instructed to transfer their assets in the form of cryptoassets; and "refund" scams, in which the victim is contacted on the telephone, instructed to go to an ATM and transfer money as part of the process to receive a refund.
[Countermeasures]
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(1)
Do Not Transfer Money Right Away
If the situation seems like a "Hey it's me" scam, hang up first and be sure to contact the person whose identity was used in the telephone call.
* As you may be unable to contact said person by mobile phone, we recommend that you back up all contact information with additional information, such as work telephone numbers and the telephone numbers of acquaintances.
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(2)
Do Not Transfer the Money Alone
If you attempt to manage the situation by yourself, it is hard to see the situation or the scam for what it is because you are shaken up. Always contact a family member, relative or the police.
Online Shopping Scams and Re fund Scams
Online shopping scams have been taking place frequently, in such manners as a person, having ordered a product online and paid the price into the designated bank account, does not receive the ordered product or receives a fake item, and has trouble contacting the seller.
In some cases, the victim is doubly scammed in the following ways: (i) upon contacting the seller, the victim was told to use a particular payment service (e.g., popular payment services with the word “Pay” included in their names) and add the seller as a friend to his/her payment service account in order to receive a refund, and entered an amount as instructed by phone but then found that the money was remitted rather than being refunded; or (ii) the seller saw the victim’s bank authentication information using a screen sharing function and illegally remitted an amount from the victim’s bank account.
Key points
- 1.Online shopping websites that sell products at significantly low prices compared to general retail prices or that only allow bank transfer as the payment method are highly likely to be scam sites.
- 2.If you are told that you can receive a refund only by using a particular payment service, you must suspect that you are being scammed. Even if you contact the seller, do not share your account information using a screen sharing function.
Tech Support Scams
That warning screen is fake.
Beware of support scams in which the scammer claims to offer support services for your computer or smartphone.
Tech support scams have been taking place frequently nationwide. In this kind of scam, while a victim is browsing a website using a computer or smartphone, a fake warning screen saying “Virus Detected!” and the telephone number of the entity that claims to be a contact point for a support service appear out of the blue. The victim who makes a call to that number is tricked into believing that the warning is true and defrauded of money or his/her authentication information for online banking.
If you are alarmed by the sudden appearance of a warning screen and call the telephone number indicated on the screen, someone who claims to be support staff will answer and lead you to pay money. Do not call such a number.
If a warning screen appears, close the screen or reboot your computer or smartphone immediately.
Please make sure to:
- -Never call the telephone number indicated on a fake warning screen.
- -Never download any software as instructed by the scammer.
- -Never tell anyone your account information or authentication information (ID, password).
- -Never follow instructions from anyone to enter your ID number or other information.
If you tell someone your account information or authentication information, you may suffer damage from illegal remittances.
Please contact us by phone immediately if you by any possibility tell someone your account information or authentication information or enter it on a fake site, or in the case of occurrence of any remittance that you cannot remember making.
Money Transfers to Cryptoasset Exchange Service Providers
Money transfers to cryptoasset exchange service providers have been increasingly taking place in telephone scam cases (e.g., refund scams and false billing scams) and illegal remittance cases involving online banking. In view of such situation, from the perspective of protecting our customers and preventing illegal remittances, we may restrict your transactions of money transfers to cryptoasset exchange service providers.
We appreciate your understanding for the prevention of unauthorized use of bank accounts.