Digital Regional Currencies Increasingly Exploited by Fraudsters

   Tokyo, Nov. 21 (Jiji Press)--Digital regional currencies managed by local governments in Japan are increasingly being exploited by fraudsters, and investigative authorities are calling for stronger security measures such as stricter identity verification.
   There have been confirmed cases across the country of fraudsters using credit card information stolen through phishing to obtain digital regional currencies. They are believed to be using such currencies because of rewards for purchasing the currencies or making payments in the currencies. Reward rates sometimes exceed 10 pct.
   On Nov. 5, police in the western prefecture of Osaka arrested seven Vietnamese nationals in their 20s to 40s for allegedly fraudulently obtaining "machikane point," the digital currency of the Osaka city of Toyonaka that can be used at local businesses.
   Users can purchase up to 50,000 yen of the regional currency and receive a premium of up to 2,500 yen. According to investigative sources, the suspects may have obtained premiums worth a total of 74 million yen by using a single credit card to purchase the currency in multiple accounts on Nov. 6 and 7, 2023.
   Osaka police believe that other people were also involved in the case.

(2024/11/21-10:30)