A 46-year-old unemployed Japanese woman has been arrested in rural Togane City, east of Tokyo on suspicion of fraud. It is alleged that the woman was part of an online scam, posing as the daughter of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, as part of a scheme to attract investments to a non-existent programme.

Online fraud in Japan has been an increasingly prevalent problem in recent years with the notorious Nigerian Prince scams dating back to the 90s a particular problem leading at one point to multiple Japanese ‘investors’ trying to claim money back through various African embassies in Japan.

The suspect in the Phoebe Gates impersonation scheme meanwhile, identified as Tomoko Kawano, is said to have masqueraded as the daughter of the famous billionaire between 7th and 25th April.

During this time, she is accused of deceiving a Japanese man in his 60s and resident in Fukushima Prefecture, north of Tokyo of JPY3.1mn.

The pair reportedly connected through social media, according to the Japanese language Sankei Shimbun newspaper.

Kawano reportedly communicated with the man via Facebook, where she was supposed to have said: "If you invest $20,000 in my father, Bill Gates, you will get $2mn. If you come to America, you can meet me."

The victim eventually became suspicious and contacted local police. A subsequent investigation discovered that the account in question was under Kawano's name.