Authorities in Tokyo recently apprehended three teenage boys believed to have engaged in a high-tech fraud scheme, exploiting an artificial intelligence-generated program to unlawfully enroll in Rakuten Mobile's phone subscription services. Investigators from the Metropolitan Police Department’s cybercrime division stated that these teens managed to secure roughly 2,500 subscriptions within roughly six months starting from December 2023, generating around ¥7.5 million in cryptocurrency from selling the fraudulent accounts.

Specifically, the youngsters are accused of unlawfully obtaining 105 mobile phone subscriptions between May and August of last year after logging into Rakuten Mobile using unauthorized IDs and passwords. The suspects—aged 14, 15, and 16—come from Tokyo, Shiga Prefecture, and Gifu Prefecture respectively. All three have reportedly confessed to their involvement in the scheme.

Motivation for at least one teen appeared to stem from a desire for popularity and recognition on social media. Police stated that this individual acknowledged devising and executing the intricate plot specifically for online attention. Among the suspects, the high school student was identified as the mastermind behind the programming, utilizing the assistance of ChatGPT, an interactive generative AI software, to automatically sign up for the phone services in large numbers.

roughly 3.3 billion combinations of illegally acquired IDs and passwords. Reportedly, the teenagers purchased these credentials via Telegram, a secure messaging platform known for maintaining user privacy.

The teenagers traded these unauthorized Rakuten Mobile accounts to several individuals in exchange for crypto assets. They then used these proceeds for leisure activities, including online gambling and purchasing gaming equipment. Additionally, police found approximately 10,000 sets of credit card data on their computers, prompting further investigations into possible wrongdoing involving these financial details.