Newsfrom Japan
Aug 1, 2025 08:35 (JST)
Tokyo, Aug. 1 (Jiji Press)–Fraud cases in which offenders pretend to be police officers and swindle targeted people out of money under the pretext of investigation are increasing sharply in Japan, police data have shown.
The amount of money swindled in such fake police fraud cases totaled 38.93 billion yen in January-June, according to the data released by the National Police Agency on Thursday. The NPA is working with police departments across the country to alert people for this type of fraud.
The number of special fraud cases recognized by Japanese police in the first half of this year totaled a record high of 13,213, up about 50 pct from a year before, with the amount of damage shooting up 2.6-fold to 59.73 billion yen, also a record high.
The agency believes that the surge reflects a sharp rise in fake police cases. The number of recognized cases involving fake police officers stood at 4,737, accounting for 36 pct of the overall special fraud cases, and the sum of money swindled in such cases made up 65 pct.
In many fake police cases, targeted individuals first receive calls on their mobile phones. Offenders, posing as police officers, then show them fake arrest warrants via video calls on social media and instruct them to transfer money to designated bank accounts, saying, “We need to confirm whether your money is connected to crimes.”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Jiji Press
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