<February 1st to March 18th is the cybersecurity period>

Computers and smartphones are used by many people, from children to the elderly, and have become an indispensable part of our lives.  In particular, there has been an increase in consultations with the police regarding phishing emails.

In order to use the Internet, e-mail, etc. with peace of mind, let’s acquire “correct knowledge and usage” and know the tricks of cybercrime to prevent damage.

Beware of Phishing Emails!

A phishing e-mail is an e-mail that pretends to be from an existing financial institution or company and directs you to a fake website.  Recently, there has been an increase in SMS phishing scams (smishing) that uses smartphone SMS.

*SMS: Abbreviation for Short Message Service.  A service that allows you to send and receive messages with a phone number as the destination.

Methods used in attacks

You will receive an email pretending to be from a well-known company (courier, etc.).

If you click on the listed URL, you will be redirected to a fake site.

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Fake sites look very similar (and difficult to tell) from the real ones.

You will be prompted to enter personal information such as ID and password.

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Your personal information is stolen.

Your information could be misused and you could suffer financial damage.

How to avoid being victimized

• Do not open emails or SMS carelessly.
• Do not easily click on the URL in the email and access directly from the official website.
• Do not easily enter personal information such as credit card information, IDs and passwords.

Be careful not to carelessly “do not open, do not click, do not type”!

See also the article “Beware of Cybercrime (Tech Support Scam)!”

Aside from phishing emails and tech support scams, make an appointment if you feel unsafe receiving an unknown billing email, etc.

Consultation Desk

Police Security Consultation Phone (Keisatsu Anzen Soudan Denwa) #9110 (Japanese only)

*For dial-in phones, call 059-224-9110

Opening hours from 9 am to 5 pm (except weekends, commemorative days and New Year’s holidays)

For multilingual inquiries, use MieCo, Mie Foreign Residents Consultation Center

Phone 080-3300-8077

Sunday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (except weekends, commemorative days and New Year’s holidays)

Supported languages ​​are English, Portuguese, Spanish, Filipino, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Nepali, Indonesian, Thai and Japanese.