JBA Agreement on the Filing of Damage Reports for Illegal Withdrawals using Counterfeit Cash Cards

(1) Agreement on the Filing of Damage Reports
The Board of Directors Meeting held on June 22 reached the following agreement concerning the filing of damage reports for withdrawals using so called counterfeit cash cards.

JBA decided to make this agreement to streamline the cooperation between member banks and the police in crime investigations, with the aim of eliminating the "withdrawals using counterfeit cash cards." The banks hope these efforts will bear fruit quickly and thus restore customer confidence in banking transactions.

Agreement on the Filing of Damage Reports for "Withdrawals using Counterfeit Cash Cards"

A bank that confirms its ATMs are being used to make "withdrawals using counterfeit cash cards" (dispensing bank) is to quickly notify the police agency with jurisdiction, and file the required damage report for theft.

However, this does not prohibit the bank that the customer has the account with (account holding bank) from filing a damage report based on another related crime such as "illegal creation of magnetic records of payment cards" after the dispensing bank files its damage report if the customer so requests. In these cases, the account holding bank is to note in the damage file that a damage report based on larceny had been submitted from the dispensing bank for theft, to help the police agency grasp related cases and facts.

JBA conducted a survey of its member banks (181 banks) on the "Quantity and amount of withdrawals using stolen passbooks," "Quantity of accounts suspended or cancelled by banks due to illegal use" and "Quantity and amount of withdrawals using counterfeit cash cards" and released the findings on June 22. The previous survey was conducted in February 2004.

(Table 1) Withdrawals using Stolen Passbooks

(number of cases, million yen)

Period of Notice from Customers	Cases	Amount
Fiscal 2000	1,118	2,178
Fiscal 2001	786	1,658
Fiscal 2002	1,294	4,165
Fiscal 2003	674	1,958
April 2003-June 2003	244	804
July 2003-Sept 2003	183	685
Oct 2003-Dec 2003	140	246
Jan 2004-March 2004	107	223

Notes:	1.	These figures depict cases in which actual withdrawals had been made by the time banks were notified by customers that their passbooks had been stolen.
	2.	The figures for cases represent the number of account holders.

(Table 2) Account Suspension or Cancellation by Banks Due to Illegal Use

Period	Suspension	Cancellation	Total
April 2003-June 2003	733	583 (320)	996
July 2003-Sept 2003	2,512	1,749 (648)	3,613
Oct 2003-Dec 2003	6,181	5,466 (2,489)	9,158
Jan 2004-Mar 2004	8,792	8,039 (4,754)	12,077

Notes:	1.	The Illegal use of accounts refers to bank accounts being used for illegal/criminal purposes (examples include designating accounts to make payments to loan sharks, designating accounts for payment of false invoices related to web-site use and "it's me" fraud)
	2.	The figures represent the number of accounts.
	3.	The figures in parentheses are the number of cancelled accounts for which use had already been suspended.
	4.	The figures in parentheses are not included in the total

(Table 3) Deposit Withdrawals using Counterfeit Cash Cards

(number of cases, million yen)

Period	Number of Cases	Amount
Fiscal 2001	6	21
Fiscal 2002	13	15
Fiscal 2003	87	261

Notes:	1.	The figures illustrate cases where banks believe counterfeit cash cards were used to make withdrawals or cash loan transactions.
	2.	The period indicates when withdrawals were made using counterfeit cash cards.
	3.	The figures for cases represent the number of account holders.