TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly stealing 400,000 yen worth of digital currency points distributed by Minato Ward to help residents cope with rising prices.
As reported by NHK (June 15), the youth splashed the ill-gotten funds on high-end dining and electronics.
The boy, a Minato Ward resident who was a third-year middle school student at the time of the offense, is accused of computer fraud.
According to police, the teen systematically pilfered official notification letters from the mailboxes of a local apartment complex in March. He then used the gift codes printed on the notices to funnel digital points intended for 40 different residents into his own smartphone app account.
Upon his arrest, the teen fully admitted to the allegations, offering a brazen explanation to investigators.
“After entering my family’s codes and getting the points, I realized it was so easy that I thought I could get anyone’s,” the boy told police. “When I peeked into the mailboxes, I thought it was a ‘mountain of treasure.'”
Police believe the teen blew the stolen public funds on meals at luxury yakiniku (barbecue) restaurants and the purchase of a new smartphone.
The stolen points were part of the Minatoku Pay system, a digital local currency introduced by the ward. In early March, the ward mailed out letters to all households offering 10,000 points (equivalent to 10,000 yen) per person, usable at roughly 1,200 local shops and restaurants.
Security loophole
The theft was made possible by a glaring security loophole: the app required no secondary identity verification to claim the cash. Minato Ward officials admitted that security was intentionally lax so that anyone, including children, could easily charge their points.
In response to the embarrassing breach, the ward has since capped the number of times a single account can be charged and is considering requiring date-of-birth verification for future payouts. Residents who had their notices stolen have been reissued their points via registered mail.
The 15-year-old may not be the only one who exploited the vulnerable system. Minato Ward has confirmed dozens of other suspicious cases involving mismatched names and addresses, and has shared the information with police for further investigation.
