Crypto scammers are ramping up their catfishing campaigns on East Asian dating apps, with another Japanese man falling victim to fraudsters. The person lost “more than $90,000” to some “foreign woman” – that has since disappeared.
NHK reported that, per law enforcement, the person – aged in the 50s along with a resident from the Murayama region – first met a “foreign woman” with an unnamed dating application in April this season.
After chatting around the application for a while, the lady told japan man: “If you purchase crypto, you’ll certainly earn money.”
The lady then continued to assert that they ran a crypto company – coupled with made a lot of money by investing her very own funds within the project. She guaranteed him:
“If you invest a minimum of $11,400 in crypto [via my platform], there isn’t any way you will not earn money.”
The person seems to possess reliable the lady in the very onset. Police described that “from early April to mid-August,” the person transferred money to “multiple lender-operated accounts” on as many as 14 occasions. As a whole, he sent some $90,000 to those accounts.
However it appears that whenever the 14th transfer, the fraudster made the decision that they accumulated sufficient funds. By mid-August, the person mentioned he “could no more contact the woman” – as she made an appearance to possess become unresponsive around the chat application.
Also, he learned that he’d no means to access his funds.
The person later told law enforcement about his losses, and also the police mentioned that they’re now investigating it “as a fraud situation.”
Japanese Police Warn Against Rise of Crypto Scammers on Dating Apps
Officials cautioned the general public to understand the potential “damage caused by” fraudsters demanding money on dating apps “under various pretexts.” They known as for that public to “immediately” talk to law enforcement or people of the family when they suspect something is amiss by having an online acquaintance.
Police operations in Japan, Landmass China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have uncovered fraud gangs frequently operating in teams in medium-sized offices.
Generally, these gangs’ people are mainly male – and pose as females online in order to ensnare unsuspecting men. Sometimes, they’ve been found using minor celebrities’ social networking photos as profile pictures.
Some crypto-themed catfishing attempts are also targeting Japanese women, with fraudsters pretending to be “foreign men.”
