Police arrest 18 people involved in scam with Monero (XMR)
Authorities in Japan, including the National Police Agency and a joint task force of nine regional police departments, said they have arrested 18 people suspected of involvement in a fraudulent scheme using the cryptocurrency Monero (XMR).
According to several reports, the defendants used stolen credit card data to make fraudulent purchases, mainly through the flea market app Mercari.
Between the months of June and July 2021, the group allegedly conducted 42 fraudulent transactions. The fraud would have generated a loss of approximately 2.7 million yen for Mercari. In total, it is estimated that criminals carried out around 900 false transactions, accumulating a value of around 100 million yen (equivalent to around US$670,000).
Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency fraud
As Japanese authorities stated, this case marks the first time that Japanese police were able to track transactions involving Monero, which led to the identification and arrest of those involved in the scam.
Monero is a cryptocurrency known for its strong privacy features, which make transactions difficult to track. Cryptocurrency uses ring signatures, which obscure funds, making it almost impossible to link transactions to the parties involved. Furthermore, the Monero blockchain does not record address balances, limiting the analysis of movements made on the chain.
The investigation in question began in August 2024, after the creation of Japan's Special Cyber Investigation Unit. The unit's main objective is to combat the increase in cybercrimes involving cryptocurrencies such as Monero.
It is worth remembering that, at the beginning of this year, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance removed the Monero cryptocurrency. Then, digital asset platform Kraken did the same in two European countries, seeking to meet local compliance.
At the time of writing this article, the XMR token is priced at US$155.37, according to data from CoinGecko. In the last 24 hours, the price of the cryptoactive fell slightly, 0.1%. With a market value of US$2.86 billion, Monero is currently the 34th largest cryptocurrency on the market.