Source: Yamasan/AdobeCrypto scammers target older Japanese singles on social media and dating apps. But middle-aged Japanese lonely hearts are also in the crosshairs of scammers. And some scammers seem to target even younger people.
In a column for Nikkan Gendai, financial adviser Kuroiwa Yasushi wrote:
“The single elderly are lonely. I understand that. However, those who take advantage of them are now endemic. Victims of crypto fraud are now coming forward, one after another.
Kuroiwa gave the example of one of his clients, a man in his 60s, who contacted him for bitcoin (BTC) advice. During their conversation, the man revealed that he was talking to a "woman" on a dating app. She said that she wanted him to invest in BTC through a certain platform.
Lately, dating app-based scammers seem eager to direct their victims to fake cryptocurrency exchanges. Once in control of their victims' funds, scammers often break off contact.
Some also seek to trick victims into buying "crypto mining packages" that offer "guaranteed" monthly earnings. A number of these schemes, in Japan, elsewhere in East Asia and beyond, have been exposed as giveaways or more basic scams.
Kuroiwa explained that he was finally able to help the client identify the "suspicious" nature of the "woman" he had been talking to. But she cautioned that "single seniors need to be careful" when using chat apps and be aware of the growing dangers of "crypto scammers."
Crypto scammers looking for Japanese lonely hearts, of all ages
News outlet Nico Video reported that crypto scammers are also taking advantage of young victims on platforms like Line, Twitter, and Instagram. The outlet reported that the masterminds of the multi-level marketing (MLM) scam were offering teens "guaranteed" profits of up to 40% on smaller stakes.
In many cases, the scammers appeared to pose as attractive and wealthy young men, in an effort to trick young women into signing up for “fake” crypto “investment training” sessions.
The outlet noted that the government was responding by increasing the amount of "financial education" it offered to "middle and high school students."
government warning
And Saga Shimbum reported that a 30-year-old man from Kashima fell victim to a crypto scam that left him out of pocket to the tune of almost €56,000.
Officials said the man began chatting with a 'Singaporean woman' on a social media platform in mid-December last year.
The woman told him that she was "making over €200,000 a month" trading cryptocurrencies, and convinced him to invest in coins.
The man, police said, bought €56,000 worth of coins and sent them to a trading platform, making six trades in total. However, in mid-January problems began to arise. Another individual, who claimed to be a cryptocurrency exchange employee, contacted the man to say that his coins had been "frozen."
The man eventually realized that he had no way to access his funds. Realizing that he had been tricked, he finally filed a complaint with the police.
In 2021, a national watchdog warned men between the ages of 30 and 49 to be aware of the risks involved in investing in cryptocurrency by following the advice of strangers.