Arrests in Japan and U.S. Over Hotel Scams of Over $1M

A mother and son are accused of making as many as 3,200 hotel bookings across Japan over the course of a year and not showing up. The scam ended up costing hotels hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Japan Times reports that 51-year-old Yukiko Kishida and her 31-year-old son, Yukihiro, were arrested last month for allegedly bailing repeatedly on reservations they made through the Japanese online booking site Ikyu.com. They used fake names and contact details to create multiple fraudulent accounts.

The scam cost the hotels an estimated $1 million. The mother-son duo also earned tons of reward points worth approximately $22,000. The rewards came from Ikyu.com that pays out 1% in rewards on accommodation fees and 20% for same-day bookings. Most of the bookings were same-day reservations to acquire the points.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., a group of rap industry impostors was recently charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after allegedly scamming multiple Georgia hotels out of tens of thousands of dollars.

Meanwhile, more arrests were made here in the states involving hotel scams. A group of people posing as the Wu Tang Clan were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after allegedly scamming multiple Georgia hotels out of tens of thousands of dollars. A group of men and women posed as members of the Roc Nation production company and the aforementioned rap group to use fake and stolen credit cards for luxury stays and services.