Chinese man sent to prosecutors over rogue cell tower in Tokyo, phishing suspected

In Tokyo's Ginza district, a Chinese individual was referred to prosecutors on Monday for allegedly disrupting mobile carrier services using a rogue cell tower device, police suspecting a connection to a phishing scheme. Yu Hai, a 31-year-old unemployed resident of Kita Ward, was apprehended on Saturday while reportedly operating the unauthorized base station from his car in Ginza.

The incident violated Japan's Radio Law. Investigators believe Yu employed an IMSI catcher, a device that captures mobile phone identifiers, to force nearby handsets onto an older 2G network and send them text messages containing web links. These messages began appearing in Chinese, targeting foreign tourists and locals, in January of the previous year.

By October, 18 Chinese nationals had reported problems, including unauthorized credit card use, resulting in approximately 4 million yen ($25,300) in losses. The issue was initially raised with Tokyo police in January last year and a public warning issued by Japan's communications ministry four months later, advising people to avoid unstable service areas and suspicious messages.

IT journalist Yo Mikami noted that similar text messages have been reported across Japan, primarily in bustling shopping and entertainment districts, indicating the target demographic is Chinese tourists.