Alice and Jensen… I’m sure all they talked about was Ai — 愛…
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Alice and Jensen… some sweet memories…View quoted post on X
Byron Wan
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A sting operation conducted in broad daylight in Tokyo’s Ginza district busted a mobile “fake cell tower” used in phishing schemes that mainly targeted Chinese tourists. More than a dozen police officers and communication ministry officials surrounded a car on Nov 7 and searched the back seat and trunk.
They had detected a suspicious signal from the vehicle that used the same frequency as legitimate mobile phone services.
Investigators suspect the car was used to disrupt cellphone services and send phishing messages posing as instructions from Chinese banks and credit card companies.
Police arrested the driver Yu Hai (于海), a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo’s Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed radio station.
Authorities say this is the first arrest in Japan concerning suspected interference with a mobile phone carrier’s radio communications.
The suspect, who was referred to prosecutors on Nov 9, has denied involvement in illegal activity.
According to investigations by police, the communications ministry and mobile carriers, about 10,000 nearby cellphones lost service for one to two hours on days when such interfering signals were detected.
By the end of Oct, 18 people had contacted police, reporting losses totaling about 4 million yen ($25,300). Most were Chinese tourists.
Similar incidents had occurred sporadically not only in Ginza but also Shibuya and Shinjuku.
Police suspect the man drove through busy districts in the capital with equipment capable of transmitting signals using the older 2G communications standard.
A fake cell tower uses a device known as an “IMSI catcher” to impersonate a legitimate mobile base station. Investigators suspect the device interfered with nearby 4G and 5G connections and instead connected affected phones to an older 2G network, allowing phishing texts to be sent.
Japanese carriers no longer offer 2G service, although it remains in use in some countries, including China. Its authentication system is considered more vulnerable than those used by 4G and 5G.
The messages, written in Chinese, were fake notices from Chinese banks and credit card companies that asked recipients to enter card numbers and other personal information.
“I received a text message on my cellphone while I was shopping. After entering my credit card information, I was billed for purchases I didn’t recognize.”
The perpetrators likely “directed victims to phishing sites, stole their credit card and personal information, and then used it to obtain cash advances or buy goods.”
Signs of trouble emerged in Dec 2024, when a mobile carrier detected repeated communication disruptions in busy areas of Tokyo and alerted police.
In Jan 2025, police started receiving reports from Chinese tourists and others about suspicious text messages and subsequent unauthorized credit card charges. The problem also drew attention on social media.
In May 2025, the communications ministry warned that suspected illegal radio equipment was interfering with mobile phone services. It urged people to be cautious if their phones suddenly lost service or received suspicious text messages.
Police, the ministry and mobile carriers continued investigating the suspected “fake cell towers,” leading to the Ginza operation on Nov 7.
Police said the man is suspected of installing radio equipment in the car and transmitting signals without the communication minister’s permission, disrupting a carrier’s equipment and interfering with important radio communications.
Police are analyzing equipment and other items seized from the car and investigating whether others were involved. Similar radio-interference operations have been uncovered overseas.
The communications ministry has warned people not to click links in suspicious text messages or emails, and to refrain from entering IDs, passwords or other personal information.
asahi.com/sp/ajw/article…
They had detected a suspicious signal from the vehicle that used the same frequency as legitimate mobile phone services.
Investigators suspect the car was used to disrupt cellphone services and send phishing messages posing as instructions from Chinese banks and credit card companies.
Police arrested the driver Yu Hai (于海), a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo’s Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed radio station.
Authorities say this is the first arrest in Japan concerning suspected interference with a mobile phone carrier’s radio communications.
The suspect, who was referred to prosecutors on Nov 9, has denied involvement in illegal activity.
According to investigations by police, the communications ministry and mobile carriers, about 10,000 nearby cellphones lost service for one to two hours on days when such interfering signals were detected.
By the end of Oct, 18 people had contacted police, reporting losses totaling about 4 million yen ($25,300). Most were Chinese tourists.
Similar incidents had occurred sporadically not only in Ginza but also Shibuya and Shinjuku.
Police suspect the man drove through busy districts in the capital with equipment capable of transmitting signals using the older 2G communications standard.
A fake cell tower uses a device known as an “IMSI catcher” to impersonate a legitimate mobile base station. Investigators suspect the device interfered with nearby 4G and 5G connections and instead connected affected phones to an older 2G network, allowing phishing texts to be sent.
Japanese carriers no longer offer 2G service, although it remains in use in some countries, including China. Its authentication system is considered more vulnerable than those used by 4G and 5G.
The messages, written in Chinese, were fake notices from Chinese banks and credit card companies that asked recipients to enter card numbers and other personal information.
“I received a text message on my cellphone while I was shopping. After entering my credit card information, I was billed for purchases I didn’t recognize.”
The perpetrators likely “directed victims to phishing sites, stole their credit card and personal information, and then used it to obtain cash advances or buy goods.”
Signs of trouble emerged in Dec 2024, when a mobile carrier detected repeated communication disruptions in busy areas of Tokyo and alerted police.
In Jan 2025, police started receiving reports from Chinese tourists and others about suspicious text messages and subsequent unauthorized credit card charges. The problem also drew attention on social media.
In May 2025, the communications ministry warned that suspected illegal radio equipment was interfering with mobile phone services. It urged people to be cautious if their phones suddenly lost service or received suspicious text messages.
Police, the ministry and mobile carriers continued investigating the suspected “fake cell towers,” leading to the Ginza operation on Nov 7.
Police said the man is suspected of installing radio equipment in the car and transmitting signals without the communication minister’s permission, disrupting a carrier’s equipment and interfering with important radio communications.
Police are analyzing equipment and other items seized from the car and investigating whether others were involved. Similar radio-interference operations have been uncovered overseas.
The communications ministry has warned people not to click links in suspicious text messages or emails, and to refrain from entering IDs, passwords or other personal information.
asahi.com/sp/ajw/article…
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💥 John Miller, a British businessman accused of spying for Beijing, had asked private investigators to dig up 'sensitive' information on some of China's fiercest critics in Westminster.
Miller, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and his handler 🇨🇳 Cui Guanghai were arrested in Belgrade in April last year in an FBI sting, accused of trying to buy American-made missile launchers, radar units and drones for the PLA.
The pair were awaiting extradition to the US when they fled house arrest and boarded a private jet to Beijing in the dead of night, and have not been seen since.
They faced up to 40 years in jail if convicted of US smuggling, stalking and arms-export charges.
Miller, a recruitment specialist and father-of-three, had asked former Scotland Yard detective Keith Hunter to compile dossiers on seven leading parliamentarians who had been sanctioned by Beijing for campaigning against the persecution of Uyghur Muslims.
Messages show Miller asked Hunter's firm, Animus Associates Ltd, to investigate Tom Tugendhat, then-chairman of the foreign affairs committee, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Nusrat Ghani, Neil O'Brien, Tim Loughton, Lord Alton and Baroness Kennedy.
The messages show the work was commissioned on behalf of Fise Technology, a Hong Kong front company owned by Cui, a senior intelligence officer in China's feared 🇨🇳 Ministry of State Security.
Hunter asked Miller to spell out the objectives, writing: 'We understand that we need to look at integrity and credibility issues against all of them but is this including anything in their home lives, business, historic?'
Later that evening, Miller told him they needed 'something' on Mr Tugendhat and Sir Iain 'to impress' the client, adding: 'It doesn't have to be dirt.' Hunter, who had told Miller he would send a proposal for the work, replied: 'OK.'
But two days later, Miller told Hunter that another team had given Fise 'financials and phone records' on the same politicians and that the client had 'closed the case' with Animus.
There is no suggestion that Animus acted unlawfully or were aware of the company's or Miller's connection to the Chinese state.
Animus produced only brief biographies of each politician based on publicly available information as part of a proposal.
More than 9,000 messages from 2018 to 2023 between Miller and his associates were passed to this newspaper by James DiFiore, a Canadian journalist who worked as an FBI asset.
Miller had tasked DiFiore with writing anti-American articles for a Chinese audience and making podcasts that showed the US in a negative light.
He was later recruited by the FBI as a 'covert human intelligence source' against Miller and Cui, and says he was instrumental in uncovering how the pair were trying to get American weapons.
DiFiore says he now feels let down by the FBI, accusing it of effectively revealing his identity in an indictment it lodged against Miller and Cui.
The former mole claims he was promised £111,000 by the FBI when the assignment finished, but has not received the sum.
'The FBI burnt me in a court document, and did not pay me the $150,000 they owed me. They had a sacred responsibility of duty of care, and completely abandoned that responsibility.'
On Aug 4 last year, Miller and Cui fled house arrest in Belgrade, Serbia, boarding a Chinese-owned Gulfstream jet bound for Beijing.
Last night, Animus said: 'Animus had a short-lived relationship with Miller. No investigative work was produced for Mr Miller or any entity associated with him.
'When it became apparent that Mr Miller sought to engage Animus in practices that fell outside lawful open-source methods, Animus refused, refunded all monies received and terminated the relationship.'
dailymail.com/news/article-1…View quoted post on X