"I thought it was suspicious at first, but ..." A

couple in their 40s in the Kanto region said they wanted to increase their assets by investing in preparation for the future.
It is said that he was deceived of a large sum of 1 million yen transferred for investment.

It all started with an advertisement for a free investment consultation on Facebook.

Using that as an entrance, they were led to investment fraud by clever tricks.

(Digitally Undeceived Interview Team / Social Affairs Department: Yohei Kuraoka, Hiroki Moriya)

It was in April that a couple in their 40s in the Kanto region found the advertisement.

When I clicked on it, I was first directed to a LINE group chat with hundreds of people.

The "teacher" there was a person who claimed to be the vice president of a real financial institution in the United Kingdom.

In addition, a woman who is a "student" and a single mother raising three young children began to send messages individually on LINE. They began to communicate with each other, saying, "Let's learn from the teacher together for the future."

My wife
, who is in her 40s, said, "I was directly connected to the person who was my teacher on LINE, so I could easily ask questions, and he was very kind to me.

In the first investment, I exchanged through the securities company I originally contracted with, and I actually invested in the stock according to the instructions of the "teacher", and I made a profit of about 40,1 yen.

Later, in a group chat, I was instructed to install the specified app on my phone and transfer the money to another account. In the app, it was displayed that the money transferred was increasing steadily due to Forex trading.

Before I knew it, the total amount of deposits had reached <> million yen. When he ran out of money, he was offered additional loans, and he realized that he was suspected of fraud.

However, cash could not be withdrawn, and after that, the chat was closed, and contact with "teachers" and "single mothers" was lost. I filed a report with the police, but I haven't gotten my money back.

Wife
in her 40s: "My mind went blank, and I couldn't eat or sleep at night for a while because I was completely convinced over time. Facebook ads are usually posted by friends, and sometimes they are sandwiched in between, so I had no idea that there were such bad people there and there were scam ads."

My husband
, who is in his 40s, said, "At first, I thought it was suspicious, but as we interacted, I felt that my distrust was being removed one by one. I'm filled with remorse for why I couldn't stop it."

Damage amount of 26.10 billion yen, more than <> times

As the number of people interested in investing increases, there are many advertisements on the Internet that solicit "introducing know-how and techniques to increase money".

However, recently, there have been a number of cases of people being involved in fraud and other damages, especially due to investment-related advertisements posted on social networking sites such as "Facebook" and the former Twitter "X". The methods are also becoming more sophisticated, such as using the names and photos of celebrities who appear in the media without permission, and fabricating comments to make people believe it.

According to the National Police Agency, by the end of October, there were 10 cases of fraud in the name of investment, such as securities and FX, more than eight times the number last year. The amount of damage has reached more than 8.221 billion yen, more than 10 times that of last year.

Since Internet advertising seems to be one of the entrances to such damage, the police are urging related companies to warn people who see advertisements.

Yoichiro Itakura, a lawyer
who is familiar with issues related to Internet advertising, said, "Even considering the advertisements that are actually posted and the damage that has occurred, it must be said that the screening of overseas platformers that operate SNS is lax.

Adding a LINE group without permission "Investment" solicitation trouble surges Why?

In this article, you can learn more about other tricks.

"Spoofed ads"

One of the methods of investment fraud induced from online advertisements is "spoofing".

Investor: Mr. Shiro Aiba

Shiro Aiba, an investor who said his name was misused in advertising, said, "I'm just angry, and if there is a person who is using his name without permission to deceive people, please work properly," he said in an interview with NHK.

In addition to holding investment classes for about 20 years, Mr. Aiba currently has a regular national radio program with the motto "Stocks are technology" and provides investment guidance to many listeners, from young people to the elderly.

However, from March to around the summer, there were a series of complaints of damage that I did not remember at all, such as "I was deceived of money by a person claiming to be a market buyer."

The modus operandi is an advertisement on social networking sites such as Instagram, claiming that "we will give away Mr. Aiba's book for free" and directing people who access it to a LINE group chat.

In the chat, in addition to a person impersonating Mr. Aiba, there were many female assistants and many student actors who seemed to be "Sakura", and it is said that "lectures" on stock trading were held every day.

In the "lecture", there were a series of calls from people who said that they had transferred money after being recommended Forex trading by a fake marketer, and wanted to confirm. For many people, the amount of damage is tens of millions of yen.


"I can't forgive them for the fact that they have been victimized by using their name more than they have been used, and that they are still suffering. I think it's naïve to check social media with ads."

The woman who transferred 2000 million yen

According to a woman in her 3s who was recommended by a fake market and transferred more than 2000 million yen in cash in just three months, when she applied through an Instagram advertisement, her book actually arrived at her home.

At first, the woman suspected that it was a scam, but every day in the group chat, there were messages posted by student actors such as "I made money thanks to the teacher."

The woman said that she had come to believe that it was a real market because she could actually make a profit if she invested according to the advice, and the guidance in the chat was very polite.

However, after transferring the money, he realized that he had been deceived because the messages were no longer marked as "read" and he could not contact his female assistant.

Woman
in her 40s: "I signed up because I saw a natural ad on Instagram, but when I realized that I had been cheated, my mind went blank.

Impersonating celebrities "fake investment advertisements" [also in this article]

Social media advertising on the rise

According to a survey by advertising giant Dentsu and others, the total amount of internet advertising expenditure in Japan in 2022 was 3,912.43 billion yen, accounting for 5.3860% of total advertising spending, an increase of 2012 billion yen compared to the previous year. Against the backdrop of increasing digitalization, Internet advertising expenditures have surged 10.3 times in the 5 years since 8595.

In addition, among last year's Internet advertising expenses, "social advertising expenses" using social networking sites and video posting sites were 955.<> billion yen, an increase of <>.<> billion yen compared to the previous year.

What can be done by asking an expert

Akiko Takahashi, a visiting professor at Seikei University who is familiar with financial troubles on the Internet, commented on the background of the successive damages, saying, "Due to high prices and other factors, the psychology of wanting to increase money through investment is spreading, and it is easy to jump on good stories.

We asked Visiting Professor Takahashi about the points to be aware of in order not to become a victim.

1. Don't trust "good stories"

It is necessary to be suspicious from the beginning of the story that "you can make money by having fun" or "you can get money", and there are trends in fraudulent methods, so it is necessary to make a habit of knowing about it through the news.

2. Check by search or video call

In cases where people pretend to be celebrities, if you "search" for that person's name, you will often get hits such as "warnings" against fake advertisements.

Chats such as LINE are closed spaces and evidence of damage is easy to erase, but it is also effective to say "I want to make a video call" and check the other party's reaction.

The consultation desk is

It is a consultation point for public institutions. Consultations regarding fraudulent investment solicitations are accepted at the Financial Services User Consultation Office of the Financial Services Agency. The telephone number is 0570-016811.

In addition, if you dial "188" (Iyaya) on the "Consumer Hotline", you can be referred to the nearest consultation service such as the Consumer Affairs Center. For legal inquiries, "Japan Legal Support Center = Houterasu" is also accepted.

The contact number is 0570-078374.

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