Over 1,300 customers’ credit card information in Tokyo were stolen by a 34-year-old cashier named Yusuke Taniguchi.
Taniguchi used the customers’ credit card information for his purchases online.
Police reports reveal that Taniguchi worked as a part-time cashier at a mall in Koto City. The suspect allegedly memorized the 16-digit number, name, expiry date, and security code of each credit card. He memorized these details while processing the purchase of the customer.
According to reports, Taniguchi is using an apparent eidetic memory, or “photographic memory,” to record the information until after the transaction when he could write it down.
Police also discovered a notebook containing hundreds of names and numbers when Taniguchi was arrested. Authorities are examining the information to trace the scope of his alleged crimes.
In addition, Taniguchi admitted to the police that he would take the items he bought online and sell them through a pawn shop. He uses the money for his personal expenses, like food and rent.
The incident that helped the police identify him was the purchase of two shoulder bags worth 270,000 yen. These bags were shipped to Taniguchi’s apartment in March of this year, revealing his home address. Through this transaction, the police were able to locate him.
Stolen credit card details
Credit card fraud remains to be an issue in Japan. On average, only about 2,900 Japanese payment card numbers per month show up for sale on "carding" websites, where stolen card data is sold, Stas Alforov, director of research and development with Gemini Advisory, a New York-based consultancy that specializes in monitoring underground hacking forums for stolen payment card data.
Fraudsters target the names, 16-digit card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV codes on credit cards. For unknown reasons, the number of Japanese payment card numbers for sale increased in November to 8,000, says Alforov.
