A cashier has been arrested for allegedly stealing thousands of customers’ credit card information using a single simple tool - his photographic memory.
Yusuke Taniguchi, a 34-year-old part-time cashier working at a mall in Japan's Koto City, is accused of memorising the card details of around 1,300 customers.
Investigators said he later wrote them down and used them to go on an online spending spree worth 270,000 Japanese yen (£2,025).
Mr Taniguchi attempted to cover his tracks by using the card details to buy items such as handbags, which he could then take to pawn shops and exchange for money, Japanese news portal Sora, reported.
His downfall reportedly came when he ordered the fraudulently bought goods to be delivered to his own home address.
When the victims contacted the authorities to report the irregularities, it led police directly to the alleged perpetrator’s door.
Tokyo police said the fraudulent purchases were made in March this year.
Mr Taniguchi remains in police custody.
In the UK in 2009, a convicted burglar who apparently had a photographic memory decided to wipe the slate clean while in prison and confess to all his previous crimes.
Stuart McCormick led police to 300 properties he had targeted around Gloucester.
Police said his “phenomenal” memory exactly matched hundreds of unsolved cases. It took them over a year to investigate them all.
He was jailed for a further three years and nine months.
