Who Is Yuta Kobayashi? Credit Card Scammer Using Monero To Wash Stolen Funds

Who is Yuta Kobayashi? Japanese Police capture crypto scam king-pin in huge credit card scam linked to privacy coin Monero (XMR).

Japan’s National Police Agency’s Cyber ​​Special Investigation Division, in collaboration with nine local police forces, arrested a man on suspicion of credit card fraud. The gang was apprehended after 900 Monero transactions from the scammers were analyzed, leading back to the suspects.

Yuta Kobayashi, 26, has been arrested and is believed to be the ringleader of a cybercriminal group. The group attempted to launder money via the cryptocurrency Monero, which is widely known to be untraceable.

🚨 BREAKING: Japanese authorities arrest 18 scammers in a $670K laundering case by analyzing Monero ($XMR) transactions.

This marks the first time Japan's cybercrime unit has successfully tracked and caught criminals using Monero for illicit activities.

— Blockinsider (@BlockInsider_) October 21, 2024

Successful Analysis Of Monero Transactions A First Of Its Kind For Japanese Authorities

The National Police Agency claims that this is the first time criminals have been apprehended in Japan through analysis of the privacy crypto token Monero.

Overall, Kobayashi and his criminal outfit are accused of causing approximately 100 million yen ($670,000) worth of damage during their spree of criminal activity.

Kobayashi is accused of listing fake products on the flea market site Mercari between June and July 2021. The fake transactions were carried out using the victims’ stolen credit card details, which were likely stolen through phishing tactics such as fake websites and emails.

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Authorities Believe The Suspects Are From a Notorious Hacker Group Called ‘Tokuryu’

Tokuryu: The decentralized yakuza. https://t.co/OycB5pTfEJ

— Cy Trucaren (@currencyat) May 6, 2024

The Joint Investigation Headquarters has made 18 arrests so far. The criminal group recruited members by advertising illegal part-time jobs on social media and communicating with them through encrypted communication apps.

The Joint Investigation Headquarters believes that they are part of an anonymous digital crime group called ‘Tokuryu’.

The Cyber ​​Special Investigation Unit of the National Police Agency, which was launched in April 2012 to support prefectural police, joined the investigation in August. Yuta Kobayashi emerged as a suspect from communication apps with the perpetrators.

After analyzing the flow of virtual currency, it was determined that there was a strong possibility that he was involved in a series of crimes.

Fraudulent credit card use continues to be on the rise. According to the Japan Credit Association, the amount of damage in 2011 was 54.09 billion yen (around $360 million), the worst ever. More than 90% of that was due to the theft of credit card numbers.

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