A: Hey there, did you get any scary email lately?
B: Scary? Nope, just some newsletters. Why do you ask?

A: Well, check this out. This cybersecurity firm called Proofpoint says the number of phishing emails in Japan has been skyrocketing!
B: Whoa, that's not good. What happens when people click on those links?

A: They get directed to fake websites and their personal info can be stolen!
B: Yikes! How many are we talking about here?

A: They analyzed about 600 million suspicious emails worldwide in April, and a whopping 83.6% of them were targeting people in Japan!
B: That's crazy! Who are these emails pretending to be from?

A: In many cases, they pretend to be from securities companies trying to steal login IDs and passwords for customer accounts.
B: And the brokerage houses in Japan are seeing a lot of this too?

A: You bet! They've had many cases this year where a scammer took over someone's account and made fraudulent transactions.
B: Gosh, what can we do to protect ourselves from these phishing emails?

A: Proofpoint says don't click on links in suspicious emails and never input your password or personal info. They also recommend using multifactor authentication with biometric identification.
B: Thanks for the tips! I think our language barrier used to help, but now it seems like AI technology is making it easier for scammers.

A: Exactly! Sohta Yukimi of Proofpoint said that Japanese used to serve as a defensive barrier, but generative AI tech and other tools have made it easy for scammers to target people in Japan now. She thinks we need more measures against these phishing emails.

A US cybersecurity firm reports that the number of phishing emails targeting people in Japan has increased sharply. It says generative AI programs and other technologies are enabling scammers to overcome language barriers that served as defensive measures in the past.



Proofpoint says the number of phishing emails addressed to people in Japan began to increase around December of last year and then jumped sharply this year.



When people click on links displayed in phishing emails, they are directed to fake websites, and their personal information can be stolen.



The cybersecurity firm says it analyzed about 600 million fraudulent emails detected around the world in April. It found that 83.6 percent of them targeted people in Japan.



In many cases, senders pretending to be securities companies tried to steal log-in IDs and passwords belonging to customers, so that they could gain access to accounts.



Japanese brokerage houses say there have been many cases this year in which a scammer managed to take over a customer's account and then use it to engage in fraudulent transactions.



The cybersecurity firm says people should not click on links in suspicious emails or input passwords and personal information.



The firm recommends the use of multifactor authentication with biometric identification.



Sohta Yukimi of Proofpoint said that the Japanese language previously served as a defensive barrier. She noted that generative AI technology and other tools have removed that barrier and made it easy for scammers to target people in Japan.



Sohta said that more measures need to be taken against phishing emails.