4th Teen Arrested in Rakuten Mobile Fraud Case after His Alleged Purchase of 35,000 IDs on Social Media

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:27 JST, March 21, 2025

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of illegally accessing Rakuten Mobile Inc.’s system by using a program he received from three junior and senior high school students, who had already been arrested, it has been learned. The boy is unemployed and has no fixed address.

The three students are suspected of having used generative AI to create the program, which allegedly allowed them to log into the system illegally and obtain mobile service accounts.

The Metropolitan Police Department and the Kanagawa prefectural police believe the 17-year-old used about 35,000 IDs purchased via social media to gain unauthorized access to the system.

The boy told police that he targeted Rakuten Mobile after learning the company allows users to open up to 15 mobile service lines with a single Rakuten ID and does not require the submission of identifying documents for additional lines, investigative sources said.

The teen is suspected of illegally accessing Rakuten Mobile’s system in April last year using the IDs and passwords of six people, and of subsequently opening four lines using the ID and password of one of these individuals.

Arrested on Wednesday, the boy has admitted to the allegations and said that he sold about 100 illegally contracted lines for $80 each through the encrypted messaging app Telegram, according to the sources.

After discovering advertisements for Rakuten Mobile lines on Telegram posted by the three students, the boy planned to open accounts using their method, the sources added. He acquired the program from them through unspecified means.

The boy’s computer and other devices contained the IDs and passwords of about 35,000 people, the sources said.