Police in Fukuoka, Hyogo and Hokkaido arrested two Chinese men accused of installing malicious apps on other people's smartphones and using their electronic payment services to buy goods, in the first such arrests in Japan.
The joint investigation headquarters announced the arrests on Tuesday. The two are suspected of fraud and of using unauthorized electromagnetic records, among other charges.
About 1,600 complaints over the same method have been reported nationwide since August, according to the police.
Those arrested were Zhou Song, 31, listed as unemployed and living in Osaka's Miyakojima Ward, and Zhou Zhi, 33, who gave his occupation as electric vehicle repairer and has no fixed address. The names are as given by the police.
The scheme
The two are accused of conspiring with unnamed others between Aug. 22 and Sept. 23, 2026, to fraudulently use the electronic payment services of four men in their 30s to 60s. They obtained about ¥2.06 million worth of trading cards, game consoles and other goods from stores, according to the allegation.
Both have denied part of the charges.
According to the Fukuoka prefectural police, the victims were told by a social media account presented as a woman's to install a malicious app called "TikTok18+", which imitates the video-sharing app TikTok. The app contained a virus that allowed the phone to be operated remotely.
The unnamed individuals used that remote access to obtain images of the victims' payment screens. The two suspects then used those images to buy products, investigators believe.
How police traced the suspects
The joint headquarters opened the investigation after victims came forward. Footage from security cameras at stores where the payment services were used pointed to the two men.
Police made three arrests between Sept. 30 and Tuesday. They believe a Chinese group is involved and are working to establish the full picture.