Japan denounces fraudulent stock transactions carried out by Chinese actors

On April 19, 2025, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s financial markets regulator, issued a warning about fraudulent stock transactions attributed to Chinese actors. Phishing attacks enabled these hackers to gain control of brokerage firm accounts in order to carry out stock trades.

“There are various types of fraudulent transactions, but in most cases, the attackers gain unauthorized access to the victims’ accounts, manipulate them to sell shares, and use the proceeds to buy Chinese stocks,” reads the FSA’s statement.

Twelve different firms suffered a total of 3,300 unauthorized logins. As of April 16, 2025, the FSA had identified 1,454 fraudulent transactions, amounting to $350 million (304 million euros) in sales and $315 million (274 million euros) in purchases. The hacked brokerage firms stated that they would cover the losses incurred by their clients.