'Celebrity Impersonation Ads' Lead 99% to Line... Japan's 5-Month Damage Nears 400 Billion Won

Issues of Fake Celebrity Ads on Facebook in Japan
Clicking Links on Facebook Redirects to Line
Nearly 1,600 Cases in April Alone
SNS Scam Losses Approaching 400 Billion Won in First 5 Months of This Year

Fake celebrity impersonation advertisements, which have become a social issue in Korea, are also rampant in Japan. Most of the fake ads appearing on Facebook, operated by Meta, are directing users to the Japanese national messenger app, Line. It has been estimated that the damage amount in the first five months of this year alone has nearly reached 400 billion KRW.

On the 22nd, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported, "People lured to Line are being deceived by fraud groups and having money extorted under the pretext of investment," adding, "Thorough countermeasures are required from both Meta and Line." According to an analysis by Yomiuri Shimbun and the University of Tokyo, there were 1,570 fake investment-related ads featuring Japanese celebrities in April, involving 26 celebrities. Among these, 1,567 ads, accounting for 99.8%, displayed links directing users to Line or used features such as adding Line friends.

According to the Japanese National Police Agency, the amount of damage caused by investment fraud using social networking services (SNS) reached 43 billion yen (approximately 3.8 trillion KRW) from January to May this year, about nine times that of the same period last year. The Japanese government requested Meta last month to, in principle, refrain from handling ads that lead to closed chats. Meta announced that it has deleted 5.28 million scam ads targeting Japan from March to recently. Yomiuri also reported that Line is implementing countermeasures such as displaying warning labels on impersonation ads in response to the Japanese government's request.