Tokyo Police Arrest 2 Chinese over NTT Docomo E-Money Hacks

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo police arrested two Chinese exchange students on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in fraudulent money withdrawals related to major Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT Docomo Inc.'s "Docomo Koza" e-money service.

The two have denied the charges, according to investigative sources.

A mastermind behind the students, both in their 20s, allegedly created Docomo Koza accounts using free email addresses, which are considered to provide a high degree of anonymity, and connected them with other people's bank accounts.

The two students are suspected of conspiring with somebody to create Docomo Koza accounts in the names of a man and a woman in their 30s to 40s in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, in August-September last year, and transferring a total of some 700,000 yen into the Docomo Koza accounts from the Okayama residents' accounts in Chugoku Bank <8382>.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department's cybercrime section, the suspects are believed to have purchased heat-and-burn tobacco products and tablet devices, worth a total of some 4.5 million yen after the money transfers, using a settlement service of NTT Docomo.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]