Hatena Finance Chief Duped in Telecom Fraud, Loses 118 Million Yen; Probe Cites Poor Management
Japanese internet firm Hatena, operator of Hatena Blog and Hatena Bookmark, disclosed on July 24 that its finance chief was tricked into transferring about 118 million yen in a telecom fraud in April. An external investigation report found management deficiencies, noting the victim, who had just returned from suspension, believed he was cooperating with an internal probe and was psychologically isolated.
Internet company Hatena, which operates Hatena Blog and Hatena Bookmark and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth market, experienced a fraud case in April in which its finance department head was deceived by a suspect impersonating the Chiba Prefectural Police into transferring about 118 million yen. The company released an external expert investigation report on July 24. The report pointed out that besides deficiencies in the company's internal management mechanisms, the finance department head, who had just returned from a suspension, was convinced he was "cooperating with an internal investigation into irregularities" and was psychologically cornered, and that he originally lacked a trust relationship with the company.
The fraud group's first contact occurred at around 8 a. m. on Monday, April 20. The finance department head received a call on his personal mobile phone at home. The caller, claiming to be from the Chiba Prefectural Police, said they were "investigating a large-scale money laundering ring" and requested his "cooperation with the investigation." The caller also threatened him with statements such as "you will be arrested too." Following instructions, the finance department head invited the fraud group's account into his own messaging app account. The caller, citing confidentiality, forbade him from informing his family, and the finance department head, fearing he would be suspected, became psychologically isolated. Hatena President Yoshitaka Kurishiba and Director and Corporate General Manager Shinji Tanaka were also told that they were "subjects of the investigation," preventing the finance department head from consulting his superiors.
Under the fraud group's instructions, the finance department head asked his family members living with him to leave the house, thereby also becoming physically isolated. At around 10:40 a. , he followed the instructions to install and run remote desktop software on his company computer, enabling remote operation.