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An unemployed man in Japan has been arrested after allegedly scamming a food delivery service out of more than 1,000 free meals
Authorities in Nagoya arrested 38-year-old Takuya Higashimoto in early October for defrauding the platform, Demae-can, of over 3.7 million yen (about RM103,400).
According to Japan Times, Higashimoto's method was simple: he would place an order, select contactless delivery, and then falsely claim through the app's chat feature that his food never arrived to secure a full refund.
Higashimoto reportedly created 124 separate accounts on the platform since April 2023, often using prepaid mobile cards with fake names and addresses to avoid being traced
He would typically sign up for a new account and cancel it just a few days later, making it difficult for the company to track his activities.
In one instance on 30 July, he ordered ice cream, bentos, and chicken steaks, and later received a 16,000 yen (about RM450) refund after claiming the order was never delivered.
"At first, I just tried this trick. I couldn't stop after reaping the rewards of my fraud," Higashimoto admitted to the police after his arrest
In response to the incident, Demae-can has pledged to strengthen its identity verification process and implement an alert system to detect suspicious trading activities.
The case has drawn shock from Internet users, with some criticising the platform's refund policies.
One user commented, "The platform's refund policies need improvement. They are too lenient with customers."
