"I'll look for a restaurant to apologize for being late,"

said a man who was meeting up with a woman he met on a dating app.

The woman was taken to a rip-off bar in Kabukicho, Tokyo.

A crime that misused dating tools.
What we can do to avoid being deceived.

(Digital and Undeceived Interview Team / Yuki Wakabayashi)

Dating is a "dating app"

A man in his 30s had made an appointment with a woman in Shinjuku in November 2022.

Meet women through a dating app.

A man who wanted to find someone who could think about his future while there were few places to meet due to the corona disaster. Thinking that there were relatively serious people gathering, they started using paid apps.

The woman said that she works in the apparel industry, and the image registered on her profile gave her a clean impression.

After several exchanges on the app, the man suggested that we have tea during the lunch time, and the woman said, "I get nervous at a coffee shop, so can I have a light drink?" so we decided to meet at 8 p.m. in Shinjuku.

A woman who arrived about an hour late because of work. The man felt that his makeup was a little darker than the photo on the app, and the impression of his face was different, but he went straight to drink.

The woman said, "I'll look for a store to apologize for being late," and suggested that we go to a store recommended by a senior colleague at work.

As we progressed through Kabukicho, we arrived at a bar in a multi-tenant building.

The background music was loud in the store, and I felt uncomfortable, but the man convinced himself, "I wonder if there is such a restaurant sometimes...", and sat down with the woman.

The sake I ordered is not subject to all-you-can-drink

While talking to a woman over a drink, a man suddenly handed him a playing card from the clerk. Then, a woman suggested that if you play a game and lose, drink a drink.

The man was a little surprised, but since he had asked for all-you-can-drink, he replied, "Well, okay."

The woman ordered 36 shot glasses of liqueur.

The rule was that if we lost the game, we would drink three or four drinks in one gulp, and in the end, we ordered more than 3 cups for the two of us.

About an hour after entering the store, the clerk said, "Do you want to check the payment?" and when I asked him, the statement he gave me said about 4,2 yen.

When I asked the clerk why it was so expensive, she said that the liqueur that the woman ordered was not eligible for all-you-can-drink. At this point, the man realized that the woman next to him was also a person from the store.

The woman couldn't get in touch with her after that.

In the end, the man withdrew his money at a nearby ATM and ended up giving him nearly 60,<> yen with an additional charge.

The woman said she was going to borrow money from her parents and walked away, and she hasn't been able to contact her at all.

The man said he was so shocked that he couldn't sleep at night immediately after the attack, so he consulted a lawyer.

Looking back on that time, he said, "If I had known in advance that such rip-offs were happening one after another, I might have noticed it on the way to the store.

Exploit tools Consultation surge

In the past few years, dating apps have been increasingly used as a tool for dating, especially among the younger generation.

On the other hand, there are cases of abuse of apps, and according to the Metropolitan Police Department, the number of "rip-off" damage consultations via apps has increased rapidly in the past few years in Kabukicho and other places. In the three months since January, it has reached more than 1 million yen (approximate and preliminary figures).

The Metropolitan Police Department has also begun to uncover the criminal group and is increasing its vigilance.

Lawyer: "Consider the case where the app is abused"

What can you do to avoid becoming a victim?

We asked Katsuyuki Aoshima, a lawyer who has been consulting on rip-off damage in Kabukicho, about his points.

Katsuyuki Aoshima:
"You need to assume a case where you are using an app to meet someone but the other person is not. In addition to rip-off damage, there are also cases of being involved in malicious business practices. It is also important to acquire knowledge such as actual tricks. Then, if you feel even a little suspicious, leave the place. If you are charged a high price, it is difficult to solve it on your own, so I would like you to create a situation where a third party can see it, such as calling 110 immediately. In the first place, 'rip-off' is an illegal act, so you don't have to pay for it, and it's important to leave the store and talk to someone."

Attorney Aoshima also said, "If you meet in a downtown area such as Kabukicho, it is safer to decide which store to go to."

The beauty of dating apps is that you can easily connect with people, but I thought you have to keep in mind that there are cases where they can be abused.

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#デジタルでだまされない
interview team is looking for your opinions on how not to be fooled by your experiences.