'Yafoo' site nets first 'phishing' arrest
A computer-system engineer was arrested June 13 on suspicion of creating a bogus version of Yahoo Japan Corp.'s Web site to steal personal information from users of the nation's largest portal site, police said. It is the first arrest for "phishing" in Japan.
Kazuma Yabuno, a 42-year-old Osaka resident, is facing charges of copyright violation and unauthorized access after he allegedly created and ran a Web site that looked like Yahoo Japan's -- except the "Yafoo" main logo, according to the police.
Yabuno, an employee of a computer-system management firm, is also suspected of gaining illegal access to the Yahoo Japan server in late February by using a Yahoo member's account and password obtained from his fake Web site, the police said.
They recently raided his home and confiscated 12 computers and other items, they said.
Phishing is a scheme to lure Internet users to a bogus Web site that uses the real organization's logo to trick users into providing private information.
The Japan Times Weekly: June 18, 2005 (C) All rights reserved
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