Over 80pct of scam emails globally targeted Japan in May: security firm
Of the record-high 770 million scam emails sent globally in May, Proofpoint analysed 240 million containing sender data and found 81.4 per cent of those targeted Japanese speakers, the company said in a recent report.
"Fraudulent emails were easily spotted previously because of unnatural wording, but the advancement of generative AI has helped produce natural sentences, enabling them to break through the language barrier," Proofpoint Japan's Yukimi Sota said.
According to Proofpoint, which says it analyses around a quarter of emails sent globally, the volume of nefarious emails started increasing sharply around the time when Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
There were 100 million to 200 million such emails sent each month before 2025, but that figure surged to more than 500 million per month this year, the company said.
Many are phishing emails sent from addresses posing as securities firms.
They guide recipients to fake websites that are used to steal personal information such as email addresses and passwords, giving hackers the ability to hijack accounts.
If corporate email and security credentials are stolen, it could give attackers access to unauthorised internal communication systems on which further phishing emails can be sent.
Sota said the majority of email scams targeting Japan used a specific cybercrime programme that uses the Chinese language.
The number of such emails plunged during the Lunar New Year from late January to early February.
"Their unprecedented scale and sophisticated methods raise a possibility of an organised attack led by a foreign government," Sota said, calling on Japanese companies to enhance cybersecurity measures such as adopting multi-factor authentication.
– Bernama-Kyodo
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Advantest raises full-year operating profit forecast by 24% on strong AI demand
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese chip testing equipment maker Advantest raised on Tuesday its full-year operating profit forecast by 24% due to robust demand for semiconductors used in artificial intelligence. The company forecast an operating profit of 300 billion yen ($2.02 billion) for the current business year to the end of March 2026, compared with an earlier forecast of 242 billion yen and an average estimate of 302.05 billon yen in a survey of 23 analysts by LSEG. ($1 = 148.7100 yen) (Reporting by Ritsuko Shimizu; Writing by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Samsung Electronics chief heads to Washington after $16.5 billion Tesla chip deal
FILE PHOTO: Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee attends a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Florence Lo/ File Photo SEOUL (Reuters) -The chairman of South Korea's Samsung Electronics Jay Y. Lee departed on Tuesday to Washington for a business trip, a company spokesperson said, a day after unveiling a $16.5 billion deal to supply chips made in Texas to Tesla. The Yonhap News Agency said in a report Lee was expected to support ongoing trade talks between South Korea and the United States during his trip. South Korea's presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said she was not aware of Lee's trip and could not provide further comment on matters related to a private company. Top South Korean government officials are converging on Washington in a push to clinch a trade deal ahead of an August 1 deadline to remove or reduce tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump against the country's key industrial exports. Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Tuesday he would seek a mutually beneficial trade deal when he meets U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for talks this week, while Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is set to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (Reporting by Joyce Lee, Ju-Min Park and Heekyong Yang in Seoul Editing by Ed Davies)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Major developments in Trump's trade war
President Donald Trump speaks during an AI summit at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff decisions since he took office on January 20 have shocked financial markets and sent a wave of uncertainty through the global economy. Here is a timeline of the major developments: February 1 - Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China, demanding they curb the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the U.S. February 3 - Trump agrees to a 30-day pause in his tariff threat on Mexico and Canada in return for concessions on border and crime enforcement. The U.S. does not reach such a deal with China. February 10 - Trump raises tariffs on steel and aluminum to a flat 25% "without exceptions or exemptions". March 3 - Trump says 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will take effect from March 4 and doubles fentanyl-related tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%. March 6 - Trump exempts goods from Canada and Mexico under a North American trade pact for a month. March 26 - Trump unveils a 25% tariff on imported cars and light trucks. April 2 - Trump announces global tariffs with a baseline of 10% across all imports and significantly higher duties on some of the United States' biggest trading partners. April 9 - Trump pauses for 90 days most of his country-specific tariffs that kicked in less than 24 hours earlier after an upheaval in financial markets erased trillions of dollars from bourses around the world. The 10% blanket duty on almost all U.S. imports stays in place. Trump says he will raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that took effect a day earlier. This pushes the extra duties on Chinese goods to 145%, including the previously imposed tariffs. May 9 - Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announce a limited bilateral trade agreement that leaves in place 10% tariffs on British exports and lowers U.S. duties on British car exports. May 12 - The U.S. and China agree to temporarily slash reciprocal tariffs. Under the 90-day truce, the U.S. will cut the extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145%, while China's duties on U.S. imports will be slashed to 10% from 125%. May 13 - The U.S. cuts the low value "de minimis" tariff on China shipments, reducing duties for items valued at up to $800 to 54% from 120%. May 23 - Trump says he is recommending a straight 50% tariff on goods from the European Union starting on June 1. He backpedals on this threat two days later. He also warns Apple it would face a 25% tariff if phones it sold in the U.S. were manufactured outside of the country. May 29 - A federal appeals court temporarily reinstates the most sweeping of Trump's tariffs, pausing an earlier lower court's ruling to consider the government's appeal. June 3 - Trump signs an executive proclamation activating a hike in the steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% from 25%. July 3 - Trump says the U.S. will place a 20% tariff on many Vietnamese exports, with trans-shipments from third countries through Vietnam facing a 40% levy. July 6 - Trump says on Truth Social that countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of BRICS will be charged an additional 10% tariff. July 7 - Trump says on Truth Social the additional higher duties announced in earlier months will kick in on August 1. In letters sent to 14 countries including Japan, South Korea and Serbia, he says that will include tariffs between 25% and 40%. July 10 - Trump says the U.S. will impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada in August and plans to impose blanket tariffs of 15% or 20% on most other trading partners. July 12 - Trump threatens to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico and the EU from August 1. July 15 - Trump says the U.S. will impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement. July 22 - Trump strikes a trade deal with Japan that includes lowering tariffs on auto imports to 15%. July 27 - The U.S. reaches a trade agreement with the European Union, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods. July 28 - Trump says most trading partners that do not negotiate separate trade deals would soon face tariffs of 15% to 20%. - Reuters
