Wakayama - A new type of fraud in which scammers pose as real farmers and advertise seasonal fruit at unusually low prices has been detected in the Kansai region, with police warning consumers to verify sellers through official websites before making purchases.
The scam has emerged as fruit prices remain high and involves social media accounts claiming to represent farms selling surplus produce at bargain prices.
In Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, an area known nationwide for its highly regarded Arakawa peaches, Madoka Inagaki, who operates Marukoma Farm, received a phone call in late July alerting her that someone was using the farm's name to sell peaches online.
"I received a call saying that someone on social media was using the name Marukoma Farm to sell peaches," Inagaki said.
The social media account carried a message claiming, "The fresh peaches my parents carefully grew have produced a bumper crop, but we are having trouble selling them."
The post said the farm was located in Kinokawa and offered 12 peaches for just 1,000 yen.
A person who spotted the account contacted the purported seller and asked for the name of the farm. The person claiming to be a farmer replied, "Marukoma Farm."
However, even Marukoma Farm's lower-priced peaches for household consumption normally cost about 2,000 yen for 10. The informant became suspicious because the advertised price was less than half the farm's usual rate and contacted Marukoma Farm directly.
Inagaki said she was not using the social media account and had never authorized another business to sell her peaches online, leading her to believe the account was operated by a fake farmer.
Marukoma Farm contacted the person suspected of impersonating the business and asked for details about the proposed transaction, but communication then stopped.
"There are people who contact them because they genuinely want to buy peaches and then end up becoming victims," Inagaki said. "We put so much care into growing these peaches, so it makes me extremely angry that someone is impersonating farmers and committing fraud."
Marukoma Farm quickly issued a warning through social media, but similar suspicious accounts believed to be operated by fake farmers have also been found elsewhere.
Numerous posts on social media use similar photographs to advertise fruit for sale. Many carry almost identical claims, such as saying the year's harvest was unusually large but the seller was having difficulty disposing of the produce.
The posts typically offer fruit at unnaturally low prices while failing to clearly identify the name of the farm or other details about the seller.
Police said multiple cases have been confirmed in Osaka Prefecture since around late June, including one case in which a victim was defrauded of as much as 2.65 million yen.
"If you see a social media post where the price is unnaturally low or the identity of the seller is unclear, you should suspect that it may be a scam," said Shinsuke Inoue of the Osaka Prefectural Police's Community Safety Measures Division.
Police warned that the fraudulent scheme could also damage the reputations and businesses of legitimate farmers and urged consumers to always confirm sellers through official websites or other reliable channels before making a purchase.
Source: YOMIURI
