¥5.3 Billion Scam Group Exposed — How They Used Fake Dating Sites and No-Police Pledges to Trap Victims

“If you pay the necessary fees to use the chat, you can exchange personal information with a man.”

By sending such messages to female members, they swindled large sums of money.

The Metropolitan Police Department’s Criminal Profits Countermeasures Division and the Fukuoka Prefectural Police’s joint investigation unit arrested Yusuke Ishigaki (41), an unemployed resident of Koto Ward, Tokyo, by May 27 on suspicion of violating the Act on Punishment of Organized Crimes (organized fraud). Ishigaki is believed to be an executive of a fraud group that illegally profited from “fake dating sites” he operated.

“Between February 2021 and July the following year, Ishigaki is alleged to have swindled over 11 million yen in cash from two women in their 20s and 40s who registered on fake dating sites. His group would approach female members claiming, ‘You can exchange personal information with men,’ and then demand large sums of money.

They likely researched the women’s preferences in advance, suggesting there was a man who matched their type, assuring them they could definitely grow closer, skillfully exploiting the women’s romantic feelings.

The group didn’t just run dating sites. They also operated side-job introduction sites claiming, ‘You can earn money just by offering advice to others,’ and collected money under the guise of referral and processing fees. Reportedly, the number of victims nationwide exceeds 10,000. Between January 2023 and May of the following year, the group is believed to have swindled at least 5.3 billion yen.” (National newspaper social affairs reporter)

The three departments: Operations Division, Accounting Division, and Legal Division

The method of the crime was highly sophisticated.

“There were five bases for the message senders — the people who sent fraudulent messages to victims — located in places like Tokyo, Miyagi, and Fukuoka. The group operated under a division-of-labor system, separated into three departments: the ‘Operations Division’ for sending messages, the ‘Accounting Division’ for managing the swindled money, and the ‘Legal Division’ for handling complaints when the fraud was suspected. Ishigaki is believed to have been an executive overseeing all three divisions.

When members complained about being victimized, the group would partially refund the money they had received and reportedly made victims sign a pledge not to report to the police to prevent them from filing criminal complaints or civil lawsuits. Since the group had access to victims’ personal information, many likely complied out of fear of retaliation,” said the same source.

The group also operated under multiple names to prevent their crimes from being traced to a single organization. Former Kanagawa Prefectural Police detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains:

“This was an extremely cunning and malicious group. You could call it a company-like organization with skilled members assigned to specific roles. It’s a type of multi-layered crime exploiting the recent popularity of side hustles and people’s desire to easily make extra money.

Naturally, perpetrators lure victims with sweet talk. You should be skeptical of easy money-making opportunities on social media and the internet. If something feels off, look up the site online. If it’s shady, you’ll find plenty of bad reviews. If you have even a slight sense of unease, avoid registering.”

According to the National Consumer Affairs Center, troubles related to side jobs increased 2.7 times — from about 1,300 cases in fiscal 2020 to about 3,700 cases in fiscal 2023. The police believe there’s a figure above Ishigaki who oversees the entire fraud group and are continuing their investigation.