Japanese game and VTuber companies see influx of violent threats, some of which falsely assume VTuber identities 

It starts out with a simple message: “Send 1 million yen in Amazon gift cards to this email address or I will blow up your headquarters.” Such threats, made under the names of popular VTubers, have become a serious issue in Japan lately.  

As reported in Model Press on August 18, the above message was sent through the official inquiry form on the website of Anycolor Corp. (who runs VTuber-related operations like the agency Nijisanji). However, other companies have also been affected by identity spoofing recently, including the game company Acquire Corp.  

First of all, why are people pretending to be Vtubers when they send such threats through companies’ inquiry forms? The answer is that it is an easy way to take on a false identity and harm both the company and the individual VTuber. Contact forms on Japanese websites usually only require a name, email address and message. VTubers often make their email addresses public for work reasons. Malicious entities have been using this information to impersonate them when sending threats to companies.  

VTubers are also reporting their shock at discovering their identity has been stolen. One Vtuber said on X that they were surprised to get an email from Nijisanji, only to be shocked that their stage name and email address had been used to send malicious messages (source: Model Press).  

Typical messages include threats to kill employees and their families or to burn down the company, sometimes accompanied by extortion. There have been many cases of game and anime-related companies being the target of such threats, with victims ranging from huge companies like Nintendo to a fledgling anime con. These malicious messages have prompted companies to cancel events amidst security concerns- especially since the devastating Kyoto Animation arson attack– which demonstrated that some individuals might act on these threats. Impersonating VTubers when sending malicious messages seems to be the new tactic.  

On a related note, the game company Acquire Corp. (who are known for Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, Octopath Traveler and Hookah Haze) revealed on August 19 that they have been receiving fraudulent messages. Although no specific details have been disclosed yet, according to Acquire’s posts on X, the matter was brought to light when users reported receiving automated response emails from Acquire’s system when they hadn’t sent any inquiries. This suggests that individuals’ email addresses were used to contact the company without their consent. 

Acquire is currently working on its system and has asked users to delete any strange, automated messages that they don’t recognize.     

It is believed that the perpetrator or perpetrators of these identity spoofing cases have been targeting certain popular VTubers and assuming their identities to send threats to numerous companies. The X post from Acquire suggests that game companies as well as VTuber-related companies have also been affected. It’s also possible that criminals are using the identities of people other than VTubers. The cases are currently under police investigation.

Based on the original Japanese article by Hideaki Fujiwara (original article’s publication date: 2024-08-19 15:34 JST)