Chinese man arrested for remote control of smartphone and fraudulent payments using fake TikTok app

On the 10th, Fukuoka Prefectural Police and other authorities announced the arrest of two Chinese men on suspicion of fraud and other charges for remotely controlling other people's smartphones using a fake app from the video-sharing app ``TikTok'' and fraudulently purchasing products through electronic payments. Both have admitted to the charges.

Prefectural police are calling for caution as similar incidents have been occurring one after another across the country since around August.

According to the Cyber ​​Crime Control Division, the two are suspected of colluding with other unnamed individuals to use an electronic payment service in someone else's name at a discount store in Fukuoka Prefecture in September to defraud a total of four items, including game consoles and bags, with a total sales value of approximately 100,000 yen.

The fake app is "TikTok18+," which claims to be an adult version of TikTok. It is said that once installed, smartphones can be controlled remotely, and it appears that the two men installed the software through advertisements on social media, took control of the victims' smartphones, and obtained barcodes for electronic payments.

The two had been arrested twice in August and September for defrauding people using similar tactics. The total damage was approximately 2 million yen, and prefectural police believe that the illegally purchased items were resold.