Dating App Scam Exposed — 23-Year-Old Woman Part of Manualized Fraud Ring

What are the characteristics of the target men?

“I want to go to a bar.”

They lured men they met on a matching app into a scam bar with this line, then threatened them together with other waiting members. The victims were detained until the next morning and forced to hand over large sums of money and valuables.

By June 19, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police had arrested six people on suspicion of fraud and other charges, believing them to be part of a scam group. Among them were five men, including the ringleader and bar employee Shunta Suzuki (22) and Hiroto Kasai (24), as well as the group’s only woman, Hiyori Kumagai (23). Their crimes were cleverly systematized. Here’s what that involved

In March and April of this year, Kumagai used a matching app to meet two men in their 20s and lured them into their scam bar with the opening line above. Suzuki and the male members then charged them 450,000 yen for food and drinks and forced them to pay 220,000 yen. But it didn’t stop there.

“Kasai picked a fight with them and confined them in a sauna until the next morning. After that, Suzuki told the victims that customer reservations had been canceled due to dealing with them, and under the pretense of paying damages to the bar, they forced the victims to take out loans and consumer credit contracts with several lenders, extracting 2 million yen in cash. They are also suspected of making them purchase six gold necklaces and other items. The group had created a manual for these crimes, including details such as the characteristics of their male targets,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs desk.

“Kasai, the suspect, picked a fight and confined the two men in a sauna until the next morning. After that, Suzuki, the suspect, claimed that reservations had been canceled because of dealing with them, and under the pretense of compensation for damages to the bar, forced the victims to take out multiple consumer loans and contracts, extracting 2 million yen in cash. They are also suspected of making the victims purchase six gold necklaces and other items. The group had created a manual for committing such crimes, including details such as the characteristics of the male targets,” said a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs department.

Kumagai likely used this guide to seek out victims via matching apps.

According to police, group leader Suzuki admitted to the charges, saying, “There’s no mistake about what we did.” Former Kanagawa Prefecture detective and crime journalist Taihei Ogawa explains:

“This is probably one of the new tactics of special fraud groups. Scam bars have existed since the Showa era, but recently, people on the street don’t fall for them anymore. So now, more groups are using matching apps to identify targets according to a manual and lure them to bars. Kumagai, being only 23 and looking like a typical young woman, may have initially signed up for what was pitched as a white job on a matching app, only to find herself unable to escape the criminal group.”

“The ringleader being as young as 22 suggests there may be a large, organized special fraud group behind this. These groups constantly evolve their methods, making it increasingly difficult for law enforcement to crack down before the crimes happen.”

Using matching apps to meet people has become the norm for many young people, but even such spaces are now being infiltrated by the reach of special fraud groups.