Japanese news outlets NHK and TBS NEWS DIG reported on June 1 that twelve people have been arrested under suspicion of fraudulently obtaining in-game currency in online games run by Sega and Square Enix.
According to the press, a total of 30 million JPY (almost $210,000 USD) worth of in-game currency was defrauded between September 2022 and January 2023 through unauthorized access of Sega and Square Enix’s servers, with resulting damages being even higher. Four men in their 40s from Okinawa were arrested, and 8 men in their 40s from Kanagawa prefecture were prosecuted for participating in fraud.
The twelve people arrested were online game users who hired “microtransaction brokers” through an RMT (real money trading) website to obtain in-game money for them. These brokers log into the commissioners’ accounts, obtain in-game currency through falsified payments, and then return the accounts. As a fee for the service, the commissioners paid between 2% to 6% of the original price of the microtransactions.
A similar case happened in August last year, when several individuals were arrested (and subsequently found guilty) of defrauding Sega of its game currency. One of the people arrested at the time – a Chinese national who acted as a “broker” – was mentioned during this new series of arrests, as 3 of the 12 individuals arrested admitted to hiring the same Chinese national for the illegal service. (As explained later in the text, both providing and receiving the service is illegal).
Throughout the investigation, one person remained silent, while the other 11 admitted to using a microtransaction broker, acknowledging that they were aware of the act being legally questionable.
Apparently, there are still other brokers involved in the case, and the police are conducting further investigation. It is reported that, through microtransaction fraud, Sega and Square Enix have lost approximately 130 million JPY (around $906,000 USD) and 880 million JPY (over $6 million USD) in damages respectively
In March this year, Sega made an announcement regarding last year’s incidents on their official website, warning players that not only the criminal groups who defraud Sega of in-game currency will be criminally charged, but also the people who commission them and obtain the in-game currency through such means.
