The National Police Agency is warning about fake websites posing as prefectural police forces, after victims were shown forged arrest warrants and one man was tricked out of ¥2 million.
On the fake sites, entering a designated number starts a video call or brings up a bogus warrant. Scams that steer people to the sites have already cost one victim ¥2 million, according to the agency.
How the ¥2 million was taken
The agency's fraud information page, SOS47, describes one case in which a man posing as a Hyogo Prefectural Police officer told the victim he was investigating a fraud case, that the victim's account had been linked to an account sale, and that an arrest warrant had been issued.
The man had the victim stay at a hotel and told him to cut off contact with his family. He then had the victim transfer ¥2 million in total, over several payments, to an account he specified, calling it a check of the account's identification number.
After the money arrived, the victim was invited into a separate LINE group. In a video call with another man claiming to be a police officer, he was given a URL and an acceptance number. Clicking the link opened a fake site labeled "Metropolitan Police Department", and entering the number produced a document resembling an arrest warrant.
Threats by text message
Social media posts describe relatives who nearly fell for fake Metropolitan Police Department sites sent to them. According to the posts, the URL arrives by text message, and the recipient is told to transfer cash or be arrested, or is threatened that officers are on their way.
The agency also reported emails claiming to be from its traffic bureau and saying that expressway tolls or traffic fines are unpaid. Links in the emails lead to fake sites that ask for credit card details.
"The police never conduct interrogations over video calls, and never show arrest warrants on a website," the agency said in a warning posted on X and elsewhere.