HYOGO (TR) – Authorities have arrested and indicted a Chinese married couple who allegedly hid a computer in a Kobe City hotel room to facilitate the sending of hundreds of thousands of phishing emails, investigative sources have revealed.
According to NHK (Oct. 15), the couple, both Chinese nationals in their 30s, face charges of fraudulent obstruction of business.
In August of last year, the pair checked into a hotel in Kobe. Before checking out, they allegedly connected a computer to the room’s Wi-Fi network and concealed the device in a corner of the room.
Police launched an investigation after receiving a consultation from the hotel. A search of the room uncovered the hidden computer, which was still connected to the facility’s internet.
According to investigators, the device was used to blast out at least several hundred thousand phishing emails. The messages were designed to direct victims to fraudulent websites in order to harvest their credit card information.
Police believe the couple left the device behind so that an accomplice could remotely control it. By routing the massive volume of spam through the hotel’s Wi-Fi network, the perpetrators aimed to mask their true location and the origin of the emails.
Authorities are continuing their investigation to unravel the wider criminal syndicate behind the illicit credit card data harvesting scheme.