TOKYO (TR) – The number of people using “skim jobs,” where people work short hours in their free time and get paid on the same day, is rapidly increasing.
The reason for its popularity is that it can be paid on the same day, but the companies that run the intermediary apps that pay the wages in advance have been defrauded by users, and industry groups are wary of the spread of this damage.
According to the Spot Work Association, an association of intermediary companies, as of September, the total number of people registered with the four major companies and Mercari Hallo, which entered the market in March, was about 25 million, reports Jiji Press (Oct. 6).
The companies that run the intermediary apps pay the wages in advance to the workers on the same day, and collect the amount plus a commission from the employers who posted the job at the end of the month. This system has been abused by people playing the role of employers posting fictitious job offers.
Since the end of last year, there have been several confirmed cases of people playing the role of workers applying, submitting false attendance records to the app and receiving their wages in advance.
Arrests
There have also been arrests in Osaka. In early September, prefectural police arrested four people, including a former manager of a nursing care facility, on suspicion of computer fraud for allegedly defrauding an app operator of a total of about 680,000 yen in cash. The four were conspiring together and split the scam into the roles of employer and employee.
According to investigators, the total damage is estimated to be more than 4.3 million yen.
A Spot Work Association official said that they are “doing everything they can” to counter the fraud, such as making it mandatory for employers and employees who use the app to verify their identity with their My Number cards or driver’s licenses.
However, it takes a certain amount of time to detect fraud, and even if there are employers who are behind on payments at the end of the month, it is not immediately possible to determine whether the delay is due to poor business performance or malicious intent, and the current situation is such that there is a “hole” in the same-day payment system.
Credit checks are also being carried out, but there are limitations to the investigation in the case of sole proprietors.
An official from the association explained, “Each business is strengthening patrols to check for employers posting suspicious job offers.” They also plan to strengthen information sharing within the industry. Timee, a major player in the industry based in Minato Ward, Tokyo, commented on these incidents, saying, “Our top priority is ensuring the safety and security of our users,” and indicated its intention to take measures in line with government and police guidelines.
