Japanese Credit Card Companies, ACSiON, Phishing Countermeasures Council, and Japan Credit Card Association Expand Joint Phishing Site Closure Initiative

Thirteen major Japanese credit card companies (see "Company Overview"), ACSiON Inc. (hereinafter, ACSiON), the Phishing Countermeasures Council, and the Japan Credit Card Association (hereinafter, JCCA) are expanding the joint initiative to close phishing sites, which commenced in April 2025, to prevent damage from phishing aimed at illegally acquiring credit card information.

In April 2025, we initiated the closure of phishing sites across 8 credit card companies for the first time in Japan*, achieving certain results. From April 2026 onwards, to further strengthen deterrence, an additional 5 domestic credit card companies will participate, expanding the scope of phishing site closures significantly with a total of 13 companies. This will enable more comprehensive phishing countermeasures, further enhancing preventive measures against damage and ensuring the safety of credit card users.
*According to JCCA research in March 2026

1. Background
Total credit card fraudulent use damage in 2025 reached 51.05 billion yen, remaining at a high level (refer to Figure 1). Furthermore, it is estimated that approximately 75% of the damage is attributed to phishing*2, making phishing countermeasures a critical issue for the credit card industry. In addition, phishing reports amount to approximately 2.45 million cases annually (refer to Figure 2), and the threat continues to grow.

In recent years, phishing sites have diversified beyond credit card companies and financial institutions to include EC/service providers, airlines/transportation operators, and delivery services. The methods have also become more sophisticated and varied, combining multiple channels such as email and SMS. While many credit card companies are working to detect and close phishing sites that impersonate their own websites, information such as credit card numbers is also frequently stolen from phishing sites that impersonate entities other than credit card companies. To address these challenges, 8 domestic credit card companies began collaborating in April 2025 to establish a highly effective system for preventing phishing damage caused by impersonating businesses outside the credit card industry.
*2 According to JCCA research in March 2026

[Figure 1: Trends in Credit Card Fraudulent Use Damage]
Source: Processed by JCCA based on figures from the Japan Credit Card Association's "Status of Credit Card Fraudulent Use Damage"

[Figure 2: Trends in Phishing Report Numbers]
Source: Processed by JCCA based on figures from the Phishing Countermeasures Council's "Phishing Report 2025"

2. Achievements of this Initiative in Fiscal Year 2025 (As of April-December)
　2025