TOKYO - Tokyo police have released a series of manga-style online videos based on real cases to warn young people how promises of easy money on social media can draw them into crime and ruin not only their own lives but also those of their families.
"Get involved and your life is over," a senior official of the Metropolitan Police Department said in warning about how people get trapped by accepting such work.
The videos come as criminals continue to use social media to recruit people. Police issued warnings against 50,213 suspected recruitment posts in the first half of this year, up 14,576 from the same period last year, according to the National Police Agency.
Each of the five videos runs for about one to two minutes. The series, available on YouTube, is also featured on a police website devoted to tackling loosely organized criminal groups known as "tokuryu," which recruit people through social media and job websites with offers of work that turn out to involve fraud, robbery and other crimes.
In one video, a young man whose spending on smartphone games has spiraled responds to a social media post promising easy, well-paid work and is eventually told to open a bank account.
He receives 50,000 yen ($320) after handing over his account details but is arrested a few days later after the account was used for crime.
A claim for damages arrives at his family home and assets are seized, with the video ending as he hangs his head and says, "I'm doomed."
Another video follows a woman who applies for a job at an overseas resort only to find herself being forced to make telephone calls to defraud victims, while a third shows how an offer to work as a driver turns out to involve transporting robbers.
"If something seems suspicious, consult the police before getting involved," the senior official said.
