Arrest of High School Student in Credit Card Fraud Scheme

The police in Kyoto have detained a 17-year-old male high school student hailing from Kanagawa Prefecture, who is suspected of unlawfully acquiring credit card information belonging to others. This second-year student from Isehara has confessed to the charges against him.

The arrest took place on Tuesday, as the student is accused of developing software designed to validate credit cards, which he then used to illegally access information from six cards during a period stretching from July 26 to August 11 of the previous year. Furthermore, he faces accusations of sharing stolen credit card details with another individual on May 20 of the same year.

Investigations have revealed that the student was involved in a Telegram chat group where members traded stolen credit card information and shared methods for acquiring such data. He contributed to the group by uploading his program, which enabled users to input the information of around 7,000 credit cards they had gathered.

This chat group reportedly consisted of approximately 100 members, with two others being arrested last year for using stolen credit card information to buy luxury watches. The scheme was uncovered during a cyber patrol operation carried out by the Kyoto police.

On the same day, Gifu police apprehended a 16-year-old part-time worker lacking a permanent residence, also linked to the group. This individual is suspected of utilizing credit card information that was obtained unlawfully for making payments, though it remains unclear if he has acknowledged the allegations against him.