11 Arrested for Creating Fake Accounts to Buy Over 2,000 Game Consoles for Resale in Japan

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.

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).

Authorities are currently investigating the source of the funds used to purchase the game console units.