Hackers Infiltrate Omiai, Japan’s Biggest Dating App

Fraudsters hacked Omiai, Japan’s biggest dating app, exposing personal data like drivers’ licenses, insurance cards and passports, Bloomberg reported.

The Omiai app, which is operated by Net Marketing Co., has more than 1.7 million members. It’s not known how many were exposed by the cyberattack. No credit card data was leaked, the company told Bloomberg, but it has not been confirmed what type of information was exposed.

The dating app has more than 6.8 million accounts and charges men ¥3,980 ($37) for a monthly membership, per Bloomberg. There is no charge for women to join.

The stolen data included customer information that was provided to the company between January 2018 and April of this year. Omiai said that a probe of its data server showed several cyberattacks last month, Japan Times reported.

The digital dating space in Japan has seen a surge in growth, more than doubling in size since 2016, Business Day reported, citing a study by a division of CyberAgent, which also has a dating app. The market is forecasted to reach ¥106 billion by 2025, a 70 percent increase from this year.

Omiai also partners with Japanese cities to host matchmaking events intended to help people forge relationships that lead to marriage and to emphasize the perks of settling down in rural areas of the country, according to Business Day.