Published on September 25th, 2022
Internet scams are getting increasing day by day. You might have seen the memes regarding this, where People are messaging with fake celebrity accounts on social media. The same thing happened with a famous veteran mangaka artist Chikae Ide. She is renowned for Wine Road of Love, Viva! Volleyball, Onna Kansatsui, and many more.
A person imitating Mark Ruffalo, famous for his role as Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, scammed her for 500,000. She also released a manga titled Poison Love, which chronicles her experience with a catfishing fraud that cost her thousands of dollars. The scammer started by pretending to be Mark Ruffalo himself.
How Did She get Scammed?
Consequently, the schemer sets a trap for the artist and storyteller, utilizing both the bait of his person and the attractiveness of his face to reel her in. This person reached out to her over Facebook and used sympathetic language to break down her defenses.
Chikae Ide is 74 years old. She was looking for a lover with whom she would spend her remaining lifetime. But little did she know that he would scam her.
She said her last marriage was abusive, and the guy feigned to comfort her by assuring her he would never again subject her to such cruelty. The video chat between her and the mystery guy lasted around a minute. Despite the attacker’s use of Deepfake technology to mislead Ide, she was sure that it was Mark Ruffalo who had fallen for her charm.
Continuing her story, mangaka revealed that she was under the impression for quite some time that the couple had secretly tied the knot virtually. The scam shortly began after the couple had their “unofficial wedding.” To the tune of $1100 to get started, the person demanded more money over time, which led to $500,000.
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Raising Awareness
The author of Poison Love, Ide-san, wanted to bring attention to the prevalence of modern-day internet fraud. These fraudulent actions increased during and after the COVID-19 outbreak and may continue to rise. Chikae Ide struggled for so long because she was concerned about her age and the fact that she had no one to share her life with.
After this, Chikae kids finally got her to see the light and terminate the relationship that was draining all of her savings. As it turns out, not even famous people are immune to these frauds. All we ask is that you maintain vigilance and caution. Don’t give up your dignity and savings by falling for such scams.
Ide sent him 75 million yen during the fraud’s 3.5-year duration. So yes, she has not recouped any of the lost funds. The police have not yet located the suspect, who may be on the run at the moment. It is a horrendous act that has traumatized her for life.
“It was such a stupid experience,” Ide said. “But I hope people take it as a lesson. I apologize to my friends and acquaintances who lent money to me while I refused to listen to them. And I swear I will continue to draw manga until I die to pay them back.”
We at Anime Senpai advise you to be safe and not fall into these earing trends. The rate of scams is increasing day by day. You never know when it might be your turn. Make sure to follow us on our socials to keep yourself up to date with all the otaku culture. As always, see you in the next one. Peace!
Source: Asahi
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