A 29-year-old has been arrested for attempting to cheat one of Japan’s largest shopping center chains, Aeon, out of roughly 5,380,000 yen in loyalty points.
Using the Aeon app, people can receive two yen worth of points simply by setting foot in one of the company’s many malls and department stores. Under this program, Daigo Sugano stands accused of pretending to have entered an Aeon establishment nearly 2.7 million times.
Time constraints aside, the likelihood of Sugano actually accomplishing this is next to zero as all of the stores he “went to” were on the southern island of Kyushu, clear across the country from his home in the northernmost island of Hokkaido.
He reportedly did this by faking the GPS data on his computers to appear as if he entered an Aeon when he really didn’t. The large numbers were achieved with the help of 45 laptops and about 1,000 accounts.
After allegedly having successfully stolen points amounting to 140 yen he appeared to have gone for one big score. And despite his efforts to spread the wealth among fake accounts, the rapidly increasing number of visits was still enough to raise a flag at Aeon who reported the anomaly to the police.
▼ In addition to his cheated points, so many false accounts would have added up to “criminal” savings on bedding and home decor.

At this point you might suspect Sugano had some ultimate goal with his significant sum of cash – perhaps funneling it to an offshore account and then moving to the freedom of a tropical island. Or could there have been an urgent need like a sick relative with expensive medical bills?
“I was going to use the points for shopping,” Sugano reportedly told police while admitting to the charges of fraud and attempted fraud filed against him. Readers of the news online were less than sympathetic for the accused, especially as he was reported to be “unemployed” at the time of the arrest.
“Isn’t it easier to just get a job?”
“2,700,000 times?! Hahaha!”
“I think he should have thought that through some more.”
“Isn’t falsifying your GPS data a crime too?”
“But he had the means to get 45 laptops?”
“That was kind of clever…but 2.7 million was a little much.”
“What a complete waste of effort, time, and intelligence.”
“Even if he went to Aeon 100 times everyday it would take 74 years to do what he said.”
“45 computers, eh? I wonder if he actually did have a job for a company that begins with ‘Ya’ and ends in ‘Za’?”
The investigation is still ongoing, but it at least seems as if the police have found their man. And with a conviction, another criminal’s dream of hitting the big-time will have gone up in smoke.
There are those who use point programs like Aeon’s to their fullest and earn a nice, legally-acquired chunk of change because of it. However, let this case be a reminder to those who are handed a stamp card at a sandwich shop and think that’s their ticket to ill-gotten riches. It just isn’t worth it.
Source: NHK, Hachima Kiko
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- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2018/11/13/hokkaido-man-arrested-for-pretending-to-visit-aeon-shopping-centers-2-7-million-times/
13 Comments
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gogogo
Aeon should have known and actually write their app to detect mock GPS locations.
8T
Once is enough for that store.
UlsterBoy
Faking the GPS location has been in use by Pokemon Go players for ages.
Which other Chains offer rewards for using their application near to one of their stores - I guess others will see an opportunity to copy-cat, though less excessively.
Do the hustle
He put a lot of work into a plan that was destined to fail.
darknuts
They called the police because someone was abusing their app? They should have just cancelled the accounts. Japan seems to be lacking cyber security experts. Someone should have know this was a bad idea. I guess this guy will miss out on his "criminal" savings.
DaDude
With this guys work, maybe he should be the Cyber Security Minister.
DeDe Miura
DaDude...good idea!
Mocheake
What if you just stood at the door and walked in and out continuously for several hours every day?
Strangerland
These work on GPS, not a trigger inside the door. You would have to move out of the range of what the GPS considers to be the location of the store, wait until your device has picked you up at this location, move inside the range, wait again, repeat 2.7 million times.
Fouxdefa
It says unemployed but it sounds like a big job to manage so many computers and accounts! Too bad he didn't put those efforts towards something legit.
Serrano
Dude: "With this guys work, maybe he should be the Cyber Security Minister"
Har!