News
11 Arrested for Creating Fake Accounts to Buy Over 2,000 Game Consoles for Resale in Japan
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
The Sankei Shimbun newspaper and Kobe Shimbun NEXT news website reported on January 19 that 11 people were arrested by the joint forces of the Hyogo Prefectural Police's Cyber Investigation Division and the Gunma prefectural police for suspected fraudulent activity of creating fake accounts to purchase several units of an unspecified game console and resell it. (Note: Sony's PlayStation 5 is pictured right, but neither the newspaper or website actually specify any game consoles.)
The 11 men and women arrested — including a 17-year old high school student and a 19-year old company executive — were accused of creating multiple fake accounts to register on an electronics retailer's online site on October 16 to purchase 18 game console units, with an estimated amount of 684,000 yen (about US$4,627). The game console units were allegedly delivered to an apartment building in Nagoya.
According to investigations, based on the fake accounts the 11 arrested used on different electronics retailer websites, it is believed that at least 2,000 game console units, with an estimated amount of 85 million yen (about US$575,012) were purchased and then resold in October 2023 alone.
Generally, an individual can only purchase a limited number of game console units, to prevent it from being resold.
Authorities are currently investigating the source of the funds used to purchase the game console units.
Sources: Kobe Shimbun NEXT, The Sankei Shimbun via Hachima Kiko
