Hackers swipe Bookingcom damage from attack is global The Asahi Shimbun Breaking News Japan News and Analysis

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ppSkip to contentppYour browser does not support JavaScript or it is disabledPlease check the site policy for more informationppThe Asahi ShimbunppNational ReportpparticleppBy TATSUYA SUDO Senior Staff WriterppNovember 12 2023 at 1720 JSTpp


A hotel received this email from someone pretending to be a customer with a reservation After downloading a file that was disguised as containing requests from a doctor the hotels PC became infected with a virus Tatsuya Sudo
ppHackers breached Bookingcom one of the worlds largest online accommodation reservation sites by posing as hotel staff to steal credit card information from travelers making bookingsppPhishing scams like this have plagued Japan since MayppThe headquarters of Bookingcom in the Netherlands conceded the damage is occurring on a global scaleppAfter learning that the stolen card information could have been used to illegally make purchases the company said it is working to recover the money for the affected customersppBookingcoms website and app require hotels and travelers to use their own IDs and passwords for accessppAccording to the company as well as reports from multiple domestic hotels provided to The Asahi Shimbun the phishing scam began after someone pretending to be a traveler sent an email written in English to the hotelsppThe email contained a link that once clicked triggered a virus infection allowing the hacker to fraudulently obtain hotel IDs and passwords when accessing BookingcomppThe hackers then used these credentials to gain unauthorized access to Bookingcom and sent messages to travelers pretending to be hotel staffppThe messages falsely claim that advance payment is required and then force travelers to enter their credit card number and other details into a fake site that resembles Bookingcom to steal the informationppAs of Nov 3 at least 68 hotels in Japan reported they had been targeted The stolen information mainly concerned foreign visitors the hotels saidppThe security company LAC Co analyzed the virus sent to the hotels and found that Russian hackers are involvedppA Bookingcom representative told The Asahi Shimbun that similar cyberattacks occurred in Europe around November last year which then spread worldwideppThe attacks coincided with the lifting of travel restrictions due to the COVID19 pandemic and the increase in international travelppThe company did not reveal the scale or amount of estimated damages but said some of the 66 million facilities that use Bookingcom were compromisedppAs a rule financial institutions and the police rely on victims of phishing scams to contact their credit card companies firstppThe hotels that provided reports to The Asahi Shimbun said they had advised affected customers to contact their credit card companies as well as BookingcomppJapanIndonesia phishing probe leads back to a teenage geniusppJapanese hotels sue Bookingcom over unpaid fees since summerppUS internet firm restricts virusthemed website registrationsppCapcom says as many as 350000 peoples data stolen in hackppMore companies with ties to Toyota targeted in cyberattacksppAnother 7pay system defect left personal data of users exposedpp



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