I’m だて◎ゆめ, a male member.
I have very little experience with dating arrangements, but I don’t think I’ve heard any stories about women being scammed from my female friends either. As they say, “A wise man keeps away from danger” (lol).
We can’t take that first step unless there’s some degree of safety and security, so in that sense, apps are a definite “No, thank you!” for me. I chose Universe carefully as well (lol).
Once I joined, I found it was completely safe, and I wondered what I’d been so worried about before...
As Mac-san said, dating clubs do offer peace of mind and safety, so that may be why more women are joining (lol).
Mac-san! A dating club is a place for dating arrangements...
It isn’t an offer club, so please keep that in mind.
That said, if no offers are made, Universe can’t stay in business, so it’s a difficult balance.
I’ll answer too—Maezawa from the President’s Office.
Thanks for the question. (笑)
I’ve never asked about it directly (I haven’t conducted interviews lately… haha), but you do see quite a few stories like that online.
It may not have been as much as one million yen, but since it was described as someone being cheated out of a large sum through a monthly arrangement, I imagine it might have gone something like this:
“Give me ¥30,000, and I can turn it into ¥60,000 by the next time we meet.”
Then, at the next meeting, he gives the woman ¥60,000 and says, “See? You really made a profit.”
After that: “Why don’t you add another ¥40,000 and let me manage ¥100,000 this time?”
He takes the ¥100,000, then at the next meeting gives her ¥200,000 to prove that she really profited again.
Once he has gained her trust, he asks her to let him manage around ¥1 million—and then disappears after receiving it.
That’s my guess, anyway.
I’ve heard that this is a typical scammer’s tactic: to gain someone’s trust, they initially return the profits properly, then ask for a large amount and suddenly cut off all contact.
Could that be what happened?
Women involved in papa-katsu often have quite a bit of money (many of them save, too), so perhaps they’re being targeted.
With Universe, there’s no need to worry about things like that, so you can feel safe. (笑)
I’m Kazu, a male member.
I’ve heard stories about women being lured with promises of a large allowance, then being used and ghosted, as well as falling victim to the same kind of investment scam discussed in Mac’s column. Both stories came from women I met through Universe, though they said they met the scammers on an app.
Maybe it’s because victims of papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan) find it difficult to report what happened. The woman who was used and ghosted is a friend of someone I’m seeing, but the woman who fell for the investment scam has become completely distrustful of people, and it’s causing problems for me too.
