Rakuten Securities’ Response to the Surge in Unauthorized Trading Incidents

A fraud group manipulated stock prices and sold the stocks they held at inflated prices

Friday Digital contacted Rakuten Securities for fact-checking and to inquire about their future response.

――There have been reports on SNS from users of Rakuten Securities stating that they were logged into their accounts without authorization and that financial products were bought and sold without their consent. Is this true?

“It is true that we have detected an increase in phishing scams since the end of last year. Most of these are believed to be phishing-related, and we have been sending out notifications and emails to raise awareness. We have confirmed that none of these cases were due to any leakage from our side.

It seems that fraudulent groups have been manipulating stock prices through transactions involving illiquid Chinese stocks, selling off stocks they hold at inflated prices to make a profit. However, we can confirm that no customer information has been leaked and no customer assets have been lost.”

――Will the losses from unauthorized logins be compensated?

“In the securities industry, transactions that occur after a customer logs in with their ID and password are generally considered to be the customer’s own transactions and are not subject to compensation. We understand that this is often the case. If there are inquiries, we will individually assess and respond according to the terms and conditions, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and other applicable regulations.”

――What security measures can users take to prevent unauthorized logins?

“Phishing scams have become very sophisticated recently, and many people may not even realize they’ve fallen victim to them. As a security measure, we strongly recommend using the two-factor authentication we have previously implemented and changing passwords regularly. Additionally, we have introduced risk-based authentication, a measure we had planned to enhance security, as an extra step to strengthen our defenses.”

Fraud groups are targeting our assets using various methods. It seems that knowing the latest tactics and defense measures is crucial.