Authorities in Japan are raising the alarm over a new, deceptively innocent social media scam that requires users to do one simple thing to earn some extra cash: take screenshots of videos.
While it may seem like an easy side hustle, the scheme has caused an estimated ¥1 billion ($6.5 million) in total damages, with people losing ¥800,000 on average in each case. A total of 1,615 of such cases were reported in 2024, according to the Consumer Affairs Agency.
Victims are asked to add a promotional account on the Line messaging app and go through a test run in which they send screenshots of certain videos and are paid around ¥100 electronically for each.
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