Unmasking the Threat: Why Phishing Scams are Surging in Japan

Japan is experiencing a sharp rise in phishing, with major brands (au by KDDI, JCB, JR East, Aeon, Rakuten, Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS) heavily impersonated since 2020; 2023 set records for phishing scams and unauthorized transfers, a trend continuing into 2024, driven by convincing spoofed sites, abuse of lookalike domains (e.g., au vs .au), urgent-language lures, and lagging DMARC adoption, underscoring the need for stronger defenses.