Got a iMessage from “SoftBank” saying I had unpaid fees. I followed their provided link and “logged in”, which the site then tells me I owe 40,000 yen for unpaid fees, assumingly for my SoftBank Air home wifi.
I forget about it til the next morning. Opening the page again on iPhone, my phone tells me the site is likely a scam – a security measure I didn’t know iPhones are capable of. I give it the benefit of doubt and figure that’s a mistake. I follow the sites instructions and use the multi copy machine at 7/11 to begin the transfer. Then, the screen itself displays an ominous looking hooded figure with a warning sign. I took a picture of said screen, cancel transaction, and went home. Using an app to translate, the translation of the image basically read “beware of National scams”
I opened that link again, this time entering random information for login ID and password, and still successfully logged in with the same amount of 40,000 yen being due. Also, checked my bank statements and I’ve been successfully making auto payments on time too.
So, clearly it was a phishing scam that I almost fell for because of genuinely how well made it looked + my lack of Japanese knowledge. But thanks to my iPhone and the 7/11 copy machine itself giving warning I avoided losing 四万円.
Pretty crazy stuff. Anyone else encounter anything like this before? Just wanted to share the experience just to spread awareness and for people to be careful.
TLDR; got a fake message pretending to be SoftBank. It asked me to go to 7/11 and use 電子マネー(vプリカ発行コード) at the copy machine to transfer 40,000 yen to pay for unpaid fees or else my contract would be terminated. Luckily the screen warned me of scams and I backed out.
11 comments
Go and change the login details for your Softbank account too, since they now have what you entered.
If you’re ever in doubt and get another message like that, copy the text and do a quick search online. More than likely, many other users will be warning people that it’s a scam. This works for any other email or text message you feel might be suspicious especially if they are asking you to log in and/or owe them money.
> … I followed their provided link and “logged in”…
> So, clearly it was a phishing scam that I almost fell for…
If you logged in via the provided link, you didn’t almost fall for it, but actually did fall for it. Sure, you didn’t send them any money, but they’ve certainly kept a copy of your login/password.
Change your password. If you use the same password on more than one site, you should change all of it, and it’s a great time to start using a password manager, so you never use the same password on any two sites.
Beware also of you have package sms messages. Common scams during sales. Bottom line: don’t follow links to login
>genuinely how well made it looked + my lack of Japanese knowledge
That’s not all it took.
What, so http://s0ftßäñk.con isn’t the real website?
It’s a common scam in Japan. There is also one that is a fake amazon link that says there was a problem with payment and you need to update it. They’ll send you an SMS. Then you click it and “update” the details by giving them your financial information and sometimes your Amazon login and password too.
You encountered your first scam? You must live a pretty isolated online life.
I get several of these via email every day. Most are fake Amazon mails saying that there’s some issue with my account and that I have to sign in via the link provided to fix it. Others are fake emails from services that I don’t use: banks, investment brokers, cryptocurrency exchanges, auction sites, etc.
Then there’s the typical mail scam saying that your computer has been hacked and that they have access to your browsing history, webcam, etc, and that you have to send bitcoin to a wallet address if you don’t want them to release your information, which I’m sure some people have fallen for.
The funny thing is that I work in security, and helping out employees identify these is literally part of my team’s job.
That doesn’t make them any less annoying.
– When in doubt **always** log into the real website. Don’t click any random links in sms or email messages.
– change your password and login on every website with those same credentials unless you like surprises when them start checking what websites those credentials work with
– apple doesn’t warn you of scams for fun…..
– the machines at the convenience store have these warnings because people like you keep ignoring all the signs
– next time call customer service to see if any of the claims are true don’t just hand out information or money
SoftBank is a scam in general 😂
I actually got a text message saying the same thing. I always remind myself:
1.) Never EVER ever click on any links sent to you via text or messenger from anyone you don’t know, and even then, be wary. And never give send link ANY information.
2.) If you had a fee due, they would email, call, or most likely send you something in the mail reminding you of payment. The company you work with should already have your information and would not spontaneously ask for all of it again via a suspicious link.
Honestly, I wouldn’t say this is particularly a language barrier problem that almost caused you some pretty big misfortune but you should just try to remember these things as a universal preventative. Stay safe.