OSAKA -- Two men were arrested here Friday on suspicion of posting false advertisements to sell computers and watches on an Internet Web site and swindling money out of potential customers, police said.
Investigators also raided the homes of Masaki Boku, 21, of Ikuno Ward, and Masato Okumura, 20, of Miyakojima Ward.
Boku and Okumura frequently changed Internet providers by using forged credit cards in an attempt to conceal their identities, defrauding victims across the country, police alleged.
Police said they suspect the swindling involved a large sum of money, and investigators are trying to specify the amount of damage and the identities of the victims.
According to the investigation, the suspects posted a message on the Web site of an information magazine around April, indicating that they were selling Sony computers at "huge discount prices."
The suspects allegedly bilked a Hyogo Prefecture man who ordered the product out of about 150,000 yen.
The two also shipped empty boxes, or boxes filled with old magazines, to people who ordered rare Rolex watches that they advertised on the Internet, police said.
Police said the suspects have swindled at least several million yen through the same method.
The two are also suspected of using forged credit cards when signing up with Internet providers to obtain e-mail addresses, and changed from one provider to another before their credit cards were found to be fake, according to the investigators.
They repeated the practice for about three months, police said.
In contacting their customers, the suspects used a cellular phone that was obtained using a forged driver's license.