TOKYO - Online flea-market operator Mercari has announced that, effective September 1, fetal ultrasound photos will removed in an effort to thwart 'papa-katsu' scammers.
During an August 28 search on Mercari for “胎児 エコー写真”, there were no active listings, but five entries were marked as sold out. They were priced around 3,000 to 6,000 yen and all came from the same seller. Listings that remained up through August 27 showed another seller offering a set of five ultrasound photos that clearly depicted a fetus for 999 yen. In other cases, sets of eight photos taken between 23 and 30 weeks of gestation were sold for 2,500 yen.
Mercari has announced that, effective September 1, ultrasound photos will be classified as items subject to removal. For now the company is asking sellers to withdraw such listings voluntarily. As for the reason, Mercari said only that the items “fall under those judged to be inappropriate.”
Why would anyone buy and sell fetal ultrasound photos? Street interviews produced varied views, from “I can’t imagine doing that myself—these are keepsakes” to “Maybe some people simply like looking at ultrasound images.” Others pointed to potential fraud: “There could be scams tied to pregnancy announcements or so-called ‘papa-katsu,’ like saying ‘I got pregnant, so please give me money.’”
According to Matsukuma, an attorney at Hashimoto Sogo Law Office, such schemes do exist. Matsukuma said, “I have heard of consultations of this kind. If someone falsely claims to be pregnant and receives money for expenses such as an abortion that never actually arose, it would constitute the crime of fraud under the Penal Code.”
There have also been suspicious listings of customizable ultrasound photos that omit dates and clinic names. Matsukuma added that many listings feature early-pregnancy images, which may be easier to misuse because in late pregnancy a visibly larger abdomen makes deception more likely to be exposed.
In response to inquiries, Mercari said, “We periodically review our list of prohibited items so that everyone can use the service with peace of mind.”
Source: FNN
