TOKYO (TR) – A 27-year-old woman suspected of swindling nearly 100 men out of around 100 million yen used a so-called “romance scam” carried out on social media, police said.

After her arrest on suspicion of fraud and theft, Shizuku Ida, said that she spent the swindled funds on entertainment, reports Nippon News Network (Nov. 8).

Thus far, police have accused Ida of conspiring with another female suspect, 28, to defraud a man in Yamagata Prefecture out of 346,000 yen in cash after she met on a dating app in October last year.

“I lied to make the other person trust me,” Ida told police, “and used the money at internet casinos and to play with hosts.”

“I want to die”

Consultations with police about financial problems through matching apps and dating sites have skyrocketed in recent years. According to the National Consumer Affairs Center, there were 45 cases in 2018. However, the number jumped to 10,107 cases in 2023.

For Ida, police believe she defrauded around 90 men out of around 103 million yen. To do so, she used at least four apps to reel in victims. She then communicated with them on other chat apps, like KakaoTalk and Line. She then skillfully told lies.

Ida is unemployed, but on social media she called herself a hostess at a kybakura. Her handle was “Yuu.”

“I want to die,” she wrote to one victim. “I work as a hostess, and the money I get paid is put into my locker. As well, I put my child in a childcare center affiliated with the club, so I have to pay the manager for it. But when I went to give it to him, I looked in the locker and it was all gone.”

Naturally, this was not true.

“Until last month, I was paying off the debts my parents left behind, so I couldn’t save any money,” she went on. “That’s why I really don’t have any money.”

That, too, was not the truth.

About covering those supposed debts, she added, “I really can’t do this anymore…There’s no hope. I’m screwed, I want to die.”

As a result, the man believed her words and transferred cash on two occasions.

On Thursday, the network visited some of Ida’s relatives. One relative said that she left her child at the home of her parents but then dropped out of contact.

“It’s a shame, it’s a shame, she did something bad…I’m sorry,” one relative told the network.

Falling for such a scam

“The woman was in a very difficult situation,” the 33-year-old victim told the network, “and I thought the money I lent her would definitely come back.”

He had never met Ida in person. He believed her claims despite only having communicated through social media and phone conversations.

Experts point out that not meeting the person makes the victim idealize that person, which increases the risk of falling for such a scam.

Akiko Takahashi, a visiting Professor at Seikei University, is knowledgeable about social media fraud. “If you meet in person, for example, you can see from their words and actions that they don’t really like you, and you’ll be more likely to see the truth,” the professor said.