THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
November 8, 2024 at 16:49 JST
Suspect Shizuku Ida is taken from the Ayase police station in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward on Nov. 7. (Wataru Sekita)
The Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo arrested two women on Nov. 6 on suspicion of luring men who sought a romantic connection through a matchmaking app and deceiving them into giving money to the suspects.
One of the suspects, Shizuku Ida, a 27-year-old woman without an occupation and fixed address, admitted to the charges.
“I lied to the men to gain their trust," she told police. "I received money from them and used it to play at an internet casino and visit male hostess bars.”
The MPD believes that she deceived at least 90 men and took about a total of 100 million yen ($653,652) from them.
The latest incident comes as reports of financial scams through matchmaking apps and dating sites are steadily increasing.
According to the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan, the number totaled 45 in fiscal 2018, but increased to 1,017 in fiscal 2023, which is more than a twentyfold increase.
Kimiaki Nishida, a professor at Rissho University who is an expert in social psychology, points out that the latest incident is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Nishida said one of the reasons is that the COVID-19 pandemic made it more convenient for people to become acquainted with each other online.
“It is easier to tell lies online than when meeting in person," he said. "Users of these apps and sites need to be aware that there are not only people looking for serious relationships who are using them.”
Then, what kinds of people will be targets for deception?
Nishida said the most vulnerable are “middle-aged men who are in relatively good financial situations.”
He said that these men's self-esteem is boosted when he receives a message such as, “You saved me, thank you.”
Akiko Takahashi, an information technology journalist and a visiting professor at Seikei University, advocates being mindful that, “If we are told something that involves money changing hands before meeting in person, that is fraud.”
(This article was written by Arata Mitsui and Tabito Fukutomi.)
‘Romance scam’ leader who posed as women now wanted by police
May 19, 2022
Japan drops plan to entice women to settle in the countryside
August 31, 2024
Tokyo dating app to promote marriage, keep out phonies
June 4, 2024
Host club addicts increase number of prostitutes in Kabukicho area
October 4, 2023
What is Apple doing with its App Store?
September 3, 2021
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
