The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday released a list of the top five companies most susceptible to hackers, warning the public to beware of scams using personal information obtained from the businesses.
Gourmet buffet operator Feast Together, World Gym, Caco Clothing, LiTV and Century Asia Theater were the companies most at risk in the first quarter, the bureau said in a statement.
Canceling payment plans is the most common scam method, it said.
Photo: Lin Chia-tung, Taipei Times
Hackers access systems or commissioned company data archives to steal names, phone numbers, expense information and payment methods, then use the information to scam people into entering their banking information, the bureau said.
Victims are often told that a clerk typed in the wrong membership information or accidentally registered customers as retailers, it said.
They are then asked to phone someone pretending to be a bank teller, who asks them to make a transfer or buy online game credits for an account belonging to the scammers, the bureau said.
In the first quarter, there were 59 reports of people being scammed by hackers impersonating Feast Together staffers, 35 involving World Gym, 16 involving Caco Clothing, 12 involving LiTV and 11 involving Century Asia Theater, it said.
The bureau said it issues a weekly notice to vendors who are linked to such cases more than five times and are suspected of having their customer information leaked, adding that it recommends they put warnings on their Web sites.
The bureau also said it makes periodical announcements using its 165 anti-scam hotline and affiliate channels to warn consumers which businesses are being targeted by scammers.
The bureau also reported an increase in e-commerce platform scams, saying hackers contact buyers posing as sellers and tell them that their purchase did not go through.
Victims are given links, QR codes or Line IDs that purportedly connect them to banking personnel who “handle the problem,” it said.
Additional reporting by Chiu Chun-fu
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