Japanese Police Probe Thefts from NTT Docomo E-money Service

Mobile carrier NTT Docomo has confirmed 66 cases of fraudulent withdrawals from accounts at 11 banks connected to its e-money service since August.

Japanese police have launched an investigation into the theft of JPY 18 million (USD 170,000) from bank accounts linked to an e-money service operated by NTT Docomo, Japan’s largest mobile carrier.

NTT Docomo has so far confirmed 66 cases of fraudulent withdrawals from accounts at 11 banks connected to its e-money service since August. The fraudsters are said to have used stolen bank account numbers and passwords to access accounts linked to the e-money service to transfer funds to other mobile accounts.

“These cases occurred solely because the ID confirmation process for Docomo accounts was not secure enough,” NTT Docomo senior executive vice president Seiji Maruyama said at a press briefing. “We want to express our deepest apologies to everyone affected by this.”

“Our measures to check users’ identities were insufficient,” NTT Docomo senior executive vice president Seiji Maruyama said at a press briefing.

The company has suspended services allowing customers to connect the e-money service to accounts at 35 partner banks, while it considers how to improve and enhance its customer identification protocols.

The enhancements may include additional identification steps, such as requiring customers to register their facial photos and identification cards, and to confirm their identities by SMS.

According to reports, the identification protocols also differ from bank to bank, and in some cases only an email address is required for identity confirmation. The banks say their own systems were not compromised.

The FSA (Financial Service Agency) has ordered NTT Docomo to explain how the thefts occured and set out the corrective steps it intends to take to prevent a recurrence.

NTT Docomo said it will comply with the order by next Thursday (17 September).