A Japanese boy group was given a gift from a fan that turned out to be dangerous to them.
Six-member troupe Anatashia were victims of criminal behavior coming from their own fans. Though not technically an idol group, the dance-only group had a dedicated fanbase similar to that of singers.
Like how male fans have a track record of obsessing over female J-Pop idols, the reverse is also true. Female fans of male artists also sometimes display this sort of worrisome behavior.
For instance, in 2018, the group revealed on their Twitter (X) page that they had received a stuffed animal that secretly contained a GPS tracker.
We’re sad to inform you that inside a stuffed animal we received the other day, there was what we believe to be a GPS signal emitting device.
— Anatashia
Anatashia | Anatashia
The group continued with a strict statement denouncing this kind of behavior. They pointed out that it was a “malicious” and “dangerous” item to place inside a gift.
This is both malicious and dangerous.
— Anatashia
GPS trackers portable items that allow owners to monitor and track its location. They can be small enough to be barely detectable inside a stuffed toy such as in the case of Anatashia. With these, the owner of the tracker would have been able to follow the members to their practice rooms, homes, and other private establishments against their will.
An example of a GPS tracker | Teddy Tracker
The dance group ended their message by announcing that they would not allow anyone to send them stuffed animals moving forward.
From now on we will be prohibiting fans from giving us stuffed animals. Thank you for your understanding.
— Anatashia
| Anatashia
