SHANGHAI: A 38-year-old man in Japan has been arrested on suspicion of fraud after exploiting loopholes in a major food delivery platform, resulting in losses exceeding 3.7 million yen (US$24,000).
Authorities in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, apprehended Takuya Higashimoto in early October for making 1,095 orders from a food delivery service, consuming all the food, yet managing to evade payment, according to reports from Japan Times.
His method involved selecting contactless delivery through the platform and falsely claiming via the app that the food had not arrived in order to secure refunds.
One of his latest schemes occurred on July 30 when Higashimoto created a new account on the delivery app Demae-can using a fictitious name and address. Although the ice cream, bentos, and chicken steaks he ordered were delivered, he employed the app’s chat feature to assert that they had not arrived, ultimately receiving a refund of 16,000 yen (US$105) the same day.
Authorities revealed that Higashimoto, who has been unemployed for several years, operated 124 accounts on the platform to facilitate his fraudulent activities since April 2023. He typically signed up and cancelled his membership a few days later.
His ability to remain undetected complicated efforts to trace and identify him, as he purchased numerous prepaid mobile phone cards, registered accounts with false names and addresses, and quickly cancelled them.
“At first, I just tried this trick. I couldn’t stop after reaping the rewards of my fraud,” Higashimoto admitted to the police.
In response to the exposure of the crime, Demae-can pledged to enhance its identity verification processes. The platform stated it is implementing an alert system to detect abnormal trading activities and prevent similar scams in the future.
Internet users in both China and Japan expressed shock at the incident.
One online observer commented: “He is quite clever. I have to admit that he is diligent for opening so many accounts and manipulating the delivery platform.”
Another remarked: “The platform’s refund policies need improvement. They are too lenient with customers.”
Similar cases have emerged in China.
Last year, three individuals in eastern Jiangsu province managed to survive for a month with a combined total of merely 19 yuan (US$3) in their bank accounts by taking turns ordering from a leading food delivery platform and obtaining refunds by falsely claiming they did not receive their food.
The trio received administrative attention from local police. - South China Morning Post
