The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has warned of a phishing scam that’s attempting to trick individuals with phony arrest warrants, the Japan Times reports.
“The police said they confirmed a case of a scam, which aims to deceive victims into accessing a fake website that looks like that of the Tokyo police and disclosing their personal information including names and bank account PIN codes,” the Times writes.
“It has prompted authorities to urge heightened vigilance among the public.”
The criminals are impersonating the police in order to trick people into handing over personal and financial information.
“According to the Tokyo police’s special fraud task force, a man living in the capital received a suspicious call on his mobile phone around March from an individual posing as a police investigator who asserted that the man's bank account had been used in criminal activities,” the Times says.
“Communication between the two parties continued on social media platforms, culminating in the victim being directed to a fraudulent website to purportedly verify an alleged arrest warrant. Upon visiting the fake website and entering his personal details, including name and phone number, he was presented with a fabricated ‘arrest warrant’ bearing his name.
The victim was then instructed via phone to transfer hundreds of thousands of yen as an ‘investigation fee’ to a specified account for the warrant to be withdrawn. Upon clicking on the ‘Investigation of Funds’ option on the fake website, a form appeared to prompt the victim to enter his bank account details and PIN.”
The police said at least four people lost money to this scam last month. The Times quotes a police official as saying, “It is easy to create fake websites. There could be other similar websites. We urge the public to exercise caution and remain vigilant against fraudulent schemes.”
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