Overview
- Police arrested 33-year-old Kimura Masanobu on Wednesday on suspicion of electronic-computer-use fraud in a case where a woman was guided to transfer funds under the guise of a refund.
- Investigators say the fraud began with a fake “out of stock” email that redirected the shopper to LINE, where perpetrators sent a send-only PayPay QR code and used a voice call to trick the victim into entering amounts that became four transfers totaling ¥217,690.
- The suspect has acknowledged receiving PayPay payments but has partially denied that he intentionally deceived people, and authorities say they are still tracing the money and co-conspirators.
- Authorities and the National Consumer Affairs Center say reports of similar “pay-refund” scams have surged, with about 180 consultations to the Tokyo police in the past year and more than 8,000 nationwide to the consumer center last year.
- Tokyo police report suspects received Chinese-language instructions via Telegram, used translation apps and recruited via social platforms, and regulators and PayPay have stepped up fraud detection and public warnings as investigations continue.