A total of 4,225 registered accounts on the messaging app Line have been hacked this month and some were used for phishing scams, according to Line Corp.
Line said 4,073 accounts in Japan, 81 in Taiwan, two in Thailand and 69 in other parts of the world have been accessed illegally since Feb. 13, when the breach was discovered.
Some accounts were used to send messages that directed the contacts of the account owners to a fake website that requested their login information, Line said.
It added that it has asked users to take countermeasures, such as changing passwords, and said that the affected account holders will be notified.
Line is asking users not to access suspicious-looking websites even if they appear in messages from friends' accounts, and not to respond to requests for identification and passwords.