Social media used to cover ‘dark part-time work’ in Japan; 41% of high school students have seen such job postings

Most of the people who committed robberies and other crimes as “dark part-timers” were lured into jobs through social media, it has been learnt. A number of robberies have recently been committed by such people in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures. Those arrested told police they were recruited through X (formerly Twitter) and similar social media platforms.

Most of the young people arrested have not been compensated for their illegal acts, and they themselves are paying a high price. Private sector research has found that nearly 50 percent of high school students have tried to find part-time jobs through social media. Police are warning the public to never accept suspicious job offers.

Found by X

Mazuki Takarada, 22, was arrested for a robbery and murder case in Aoba Ward, Yokohama. “I looked on X for a part-time job that would bring me a lot of money quickly, I found a posting about a ‘clean’ job and applied for it,” Takarada told Kanagawa Prefectural Police investigators .

The suspect said he didn’t know it was a “black job” when he applied. Takarada also told police that he had given the handlers his personal information and therefore could not refuse their requests.

There have been 23 such crimes since August in Tokyo and five prefectures, and about 50 people have been arrested for committing robberies or collecting cash in 19 of the crimes. About 80% of the arrested suspects were teenagers or in their 20s.

According to investigative sources, most of those who committed the crimes responded to job offers posted on X, Instagram or other social networks. The drivers made the posts look like legal job offers – claiming, for example, that the jobs would involve carrying luggage or documents or pick-up and drop-off services.

To prevent potential applicants from feeling wary, some of the posts emphasized that the offers were “clean jobs”, “not shady part-time work” or “no risk”.

No payment, heavy penalty

Such shady part-time work is believed to have started to spread in the 2010s with the popularization of social media.

Initially, such jobs involved collecting money from fraud victims or withdrawing money from scam victims’ bank accounts. He then branched out into trading other people’s smartphones and bank accounts and transporting other people’s luggage containing illegal drugs.

The crimes became increasingly heinous in 2022 and 2023, when a series of heists led by ringleaders calling themselves “Luffy” took place. During that crime spree, an elderly woman was physically assaulted and killed in her home in Komae, Tokyo.

The series of cases in August also included a robbery-murder and a case in which a victim was kidnapped to withdraw cash from a bank account.

Such crimes carry extremely heavy legal penalties. People convicted of fraud face up to 10 years in prison, and people found guilty of robbery can receive at least 5 years in prison. Those convicted of robbery-murder face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Most of the suspects arrested in the recent crime spree told police they had not been paid.

A senior Metropolitan Police Department official said: “Part-timers are being used and thrown away. If they notice anything strange, we want them to notify the police even if they are under threat.”

Ambiguous details

Job information agency Mynavi Corp. surveyed about 650 high school students with part-time jobs in February, and 46 percent said they looked for part-time jobs on social media.

In addition, 41 percent said they had seen suspicious job offers, and about 10 percent said someone had tried to lure them into accepting such jobs.

But only half of respondents knew that negotiating a job exclusively through social media puts people at risk of engaging in illegal acts.

According to Mynavi, there are many messages about dark part-time work on social media and matchmaking apps. The jobs are often described as “office work” or “light work” among other things.

The job itself is described ambiguously, such as “just making phone calls” or “just hauling stuff.” And above all, great rewards are promised.

“Applicants should be especially careful if they are unable to meet with recruiters in person because they only communicate through social media, or if they are required to show a driver’s license or other identification at the time of application,” a Mynavi official said.