Beware of special scams
Update date: February 15, 2024
What is special fraud?
Criminals use the phone or send postcards (sealed letters) to trick victims into believing that they are relatives or employees of public institutions. (including extortion of cash, etc., and fraud (theft) of stealing cash cards, etc., at an opportunity).
Latest information NEW!!
Be careful of "support scams"!
What is “support fraud”?
While viewing a video or website on a computer or smartphone, a warning screen such as ``You have been infected with a virus'' and contact information suddenly appear, and the victim calls the victim, asking for the virus to be removed. This is a fraudulent method that asks you to transfer cash or to purchase an electronic money card at a convenience store.
To avoid becoming a victim...
- Do not call displayed contacts
- Do not buy an electronic money card even if you are asked to do so
reference
Metropolitan Police Department homepage “Support fraud measures” (external link)
"Number Display" etc. can be used for free!
You can use ``Number Display'', which allows you to check the phone number of the other party, and ``Number Request'', which allows you to reject anonymous calls, for free. Please check here (external link) for details.
subject
Policyholders who are 70 years of age or older, or policyholders who live with someone who is 70 years of age or older [Note] Applications can also be made by family members on their behalf.
inquiry
NTT East Special Anti-Fraud Dial Telephone: 0120-722-455 (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
Special fraud damage occurrence situation in Inagi City
| Number of damages (cases) | Amount of damage (thousand yen) | Aged population (people) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 16 | 40,968 | 15,416 |
| 2014 | 11 | 27,907 | 16,221 |
| 2015 | 9 | 38,340 | 17,039 |
| 2016 | 9 | 23,602 | 17,726 |
| 2017 | 11 | 25,441 | 18,307 |
| 2018 | 19 | 41,860 | 18,857 |
| 2019 | 11 | 20,900 | 19,151 |
| Reiwa 2nd year | 7 | 14,380 | 19,473 |
| Reiwa 3rd year | 9 | 7,600 | 19,859 |
| 2020 | 6 | 7,770 | 20,413 |
| 2020 | 10 | 12,390 | 20,527 |
(Note 1) The amount of damage is rounded down to the nearest thousand yen.
(Note 2) Figures for elderly population (aged 65 and over) are as of January 1.
Special Fraud Techniques and Precautions
| kinds | overview | Precautions etc. |
|---|---|---|
| This is a method of defrauding (threatening) money, etc., by pretending to be relatives, police officers, lawyers, etc., under the pretext of settlement money, etc. for incidents or accidents caused by relatives. | If you talk about money on the phone, hang up and Talk to your family and friends right away! |
|
Pretending to be a relative, police officer, banking association employee, etc. to defraud cash cards, credit cards, bankbooks, etc., under the pretext that your account is being used for a crime and that you need to change your cash card. It's a way to (threat). |
Officials of local governments, banking associations, etc. will never ask for your PIN or come to look after your cash card. | |
Making a phone call to the victim pretending to be a police officer, a bank association, or a staff member of a major department store, etc., and making the victim prepare a cash card under the pretext that "the cash card is being used illegally", etc. It is a trick to steal cash cards, etc. |
Police officers, banking associations and other officials will never ask for your PIN or ask you to put your cash card in an envelope. | |
| It is a method of defrauding (blackmailing) money, etc., using fictitious facts, such as unpaid fees, as an excuse. | Businesses, the Ministry of Justice, courts, etc. will never make you purchase electronic money (prepaid cards) at convenience stores under the pretext of "paying unpaid bills." | |
| It is a method of making the victim operate an ATM under the guise of procedures necessary for tax refunds, etc., and obtain illegal property benefits by transferring money between accounts. | You will never get your money back from an ATM. | |
| There are also methods such as loan deposit fraud, financial product fraud, gambling fraud, and dating fraud. | Beware of sweet words. Suspect such calls, mails, and emails as “scams”. |
All external links in the table are to the Metropolitan Police Department/SOS47 special fraud countermeasures page .
[Special anti-fraud measures] The city provides automatic call recorders free of charge!
Automatic call recorder (image)
In order to prevent damage from special fraud, the city provides free automatic call recorders to citizens aged 65 and over.
This recorder plays a warning message to the caller (culprit) before the phone rings, so it is expected that the caller (culprit) will give up on the call and prevent further damage. Masu. For details, please check here (internal link) .
Inquiries about this page
Inagi City General Affairs Department General Affairs and Contract Section
2111 Higashi Naganuma, Inagi City, Tokyo
Phone: 042-378-2111 Fax: 042-377-4781
