“My Electricity Was Cut Off at Home”: Man (38) Arrested for Aiding Illegal Work… Details of the “Recruitment Tactics” Targeting People in Financial Distress

Is he a money collector for “Ore-Ore scams”?

Around 8:30 a.m. on September 3, suspects scheduled to be referred to prosecutors that day emerged from the escort exit at the Nerima Police Station. Leading the group was a man with short hair and black-rimmed glasses. At first glance, he looked like a serious office worker and didn’t seem like the type who would have swindled a large sum of money from an elderly woman through a fraudulent “under-the-table job” scheme.The man walked with his head down, keeping his eyes cast downward the entire time—.

The man re-arrested on suspicion of fraud by the Nerima Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is Kenta Arakawa (38), a part-time worker from Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture.

“The charge for this re-arrest is that on July 22, he called a woman in her 80s in Nishi-Tokyo City, Tokyo, pretending to be her son, and claimed, ‘I lost the briefcase containing documents necessary for a business transaction,’ among other things, to swindle her out of 1.6 million yen in cash.Arakawa had previously been arrested and indicted in August on suspicion of defrauding a woman in her 90s in Nerima Ward out of 500,000 yen using a similar scheme.

According to police, Arakawa stated, ‘I was instructed by someone I met on Instagram’ and ‘My electricity was cut off at home, so I applied for an illegal part-time job to earn living expenses.’ Police are conducting a detailed investigation, suspecting he acted as a money collector for a specialized fraud ring.” (Social Affairs Reporter, National Newspaper)

This case involves a “prank call scam,” a type of fraud that has been repeated countless times. Specialized fraud groups are constantly refining their methods; in 2025, the number of reported cases reached 27,832, a 32.3% increase from the previous year. While new scams often make headlines, it appears that traditional methods are still rampant.

Of particular concern is defendant Arakawa’s motive for joining the illegal side job—namely, that he was “struggling financially.” Recently, there has been a spate of cases where individuals have been arrested for participating in illegal side jobs for similar reasons.

In June of ‘25, a 67-year-old unemployed man was arrested on suspicion of fraud after attempting to swindle 3 million yen from a woman in her 80s in Ota Ward by posing as an acquaintance of her son.The man stated , “I only received 40,000 to 50,000 yen as payment for receiving the package. I didn’t know it was cash.” He is believed to have been a “receiver” for a specialized fraud ring. Nippon Television reported at the time that this man had applied in response to an email titled “For People in Financial Distress” and became a receiver.

A man in his 70s from Hiroshima City, who was arrested and indicted in September of ‘25, was living on his pension and welfare benefits while burdened with debt.At some point in ’24, he responded to a text message on his cell phone advertising a side job, and without realizing it, became involved in an illegal side job, aiding in a tax refund scam. He reportedly transferred 4.55 million yen—which had been deposited into his account by the tax office—to the fraud group’s account. His payment is said to have been 50,000 yen.

Are “Middle-Aged and Older People with Debt and No Job” Popular?

Has there long been a tendency for adults—who are supposed to be sensible—especially those struggling to make ends meet, to get drawn into illegal part-time work? We asked underworld journalist Yukio Ishihara.

“While recruitment via social media has slowed down these days, I’ve interviewed about 100 recruiters by posing as applicants for these underground jobs.Since they’re aware this is a criminal activity, when I approach them posing as a student or an ordinary office worker, they won’t reveal any details about the job unless I show them my employee ID, driver’s license, or passport—and provide information about my parents and siblings back home.

However, if you say, ‘I’m an unemployed middle-aged person with gambling debts, and I just need to scrape together this month’s rent and interest,’ they’ll open up to you without fail.Even without revealing any of my personal information, they’ll readily spill the beans about the job—asking things like, “Oh, so you’re in debt? Have you heard of ‘receivers’ and ‘deliverers’?” or “Do you own a suit?”

According to them, there are many people who are in dire need of immediate cash—whether because they’re in debt or for other reasons—and since they’ll do just about anything, they’re the perfect candidates.”

Recruiters are said to use their smooth talk to further sway people who have the mindset that they’ll do anything for quick cash.

“They’ll set the debt amount at a figure that’s a bit tough for an unemployed, laid-off middle-aged man to pay off—say, ‘I have about 600,000 yen in debt; will that be okay?’—and then they’ll say something like, ‘If you work hard for us, not only will you pay off your debt, but you’ll even be able to save up and go on an overseas trip.’Hearing that, someone who’s desperate for immediate cash will probably think, ‘All right, then I’ll give it my all,’ and get motivated.

Of course, it’s the higher-ups—the ones giving orders—who actually pay the money. In reality, they’re generous at first, but gradually they start making excuses and stop paying each time; before long, they get arrested, and the whole thing gets swept under the rug.

“Even so, someone who couldn’t even pay rent despite working hard at a part-time job would naturally be tempted if they were suddenly handed 50,000 yen just for being detained for three hours. I think that’s the typical pattern we see with middle-aged and older people who’ve been caught working in the black market,” said Mr. Ishihara.

The temptations of evil creep up on people who are in dire straits due to financial hardship.

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