Why Scammers Use “+” International Numbers: Inside the Sophisticated Tactics of Japan’s Rising Fake-Police Fraud
The automated voice is the entrance to hell
“Your phone service will be suspended in two hours. Please press ‘1’.”
A high-aged woman received an automated call claiming to be from NTT. That single phone call became the starting point of a special-fraud case that pushed Japan’s losses into territory surpassing even the famous unsolved 300 million yen robbery of the Shōwa era.
In October last year, it was revealed that a woman in her 70s living in Sendai City had been deceived out of approximately 360 million yen.
“You have a mobile phone contract under your name that has been used for criminal activity. To investigate your involvement, the police and Financial Services Agency will temporarily hold all of your assets.”
Believing the words of a man claiming to be from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Investigative Division 2, the woman followed all of his instructions: she placed 18.6 kg of gold (worth about 348 million yen) in a station coin locker and transferred about 10.4 million yen in cash to a designated account.
This incident is just the tip of the iceberg of the fake police officer fraud now ravaging all of Japan.
According to the latest police data, total losses from special fraud by the end of September this year reached 96.53 billion yen. Of that, fake-police-officer scams accounted for 66.12 billion yen, nearly 70% of the total—an extraordinary situation.
Why are so many people so easily deceived by fake police officers? Behind this lies the true face of international “Tokuryū” groups (anonymous, fluid criminal networks) who exploit Japanese cultural tendencies and operate sophisticated traps from overseas.
“This is the customer service center. Your mobile phone will be completely suspended in two hours. If you have questions, press 1.”
The actual scam call audio released by the National Police Agency begins with this cold, mechanical automated voice. When the anxious victim presses “1,” a sincere-sounding customer service representative appears and says:
“A phone illegally contracted in your name has been sending a large amount of spam. Because this is criminal in nature, the line will be suspended. We can connect you to the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters, where the incident occurred. How would you like to proceed?”
Faced suddenly with the word crime, few people can remain calm. When the victim agrees, the call is transferred to a fake police officer.
“Yes, this is Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters. Is this regarding an incident or an accident?”
A fast-talking, crisp-sounding police-like fake officer enters the scene.
The Japanese weakness: easily swayed by titles
“After checking, we confirmed that the contract was made at a shop called Matsushima-ten. To issue a victim report, we need to conduct an interview first, so we need you to come to the Fukuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters within two hours today.”
The scammers use a perfectly coordinated theatrical setup, dividing roles between a telecom company representative and a police officer. In this way, the criminals impersonate police and lead victims to LINE or other messaging apps. They display fake police IDs and even fake arrest warrants over video calls, making the victims believe everything completely.
When viewed calmly, the fake police officer’s story is full of contradictions. So why do people fall for it?
Nonfiction writer Ryo Fujiwara, author of The History of Underground Part-Time Crime: The Lineage of “Nameless Crimes” and an expert on criminal organizations, points to a deeply rooted Japanese cultural tendency.
“Criminal groups abroad all say the same thing: Japanese people are weak against titles. In the past, scams by people posing as waterworks employees were widespread. Japanese people have always trusted uniforms and official titles. But this mindset is completely different from their own culture. In places like China, police officers themselves are not trusted at all.”
Because of this, scammers abroad originally did not think impersonating police officers would work in Japan. While ore-ore scams spread rapidly, fake police officer scams did not initially become a mainstream method. But then the criminals realized something:
Japan’s unique condition—an exceptionally high level of trust in public authority—is the perfect ingredient for fraud.
Fujiwara continues with an example of how police are viewed differently in China:
“In China, the public security police have no trust from the citizenry. They are tools of the Communist Party, often falsely accusing ordinary people and demanding money or valuables. For example: ‘You distributed anti-government leaflets,’ they’ll say, and detain someone and confiscate their property. To citizens, they’re unpredictable—no different from criminals. In other words, the perception of police is completely different.”
In Japan, police officers are seen as unquestionably trustworthy, and many people accept their authority without question. This cultural gap is now being ruthlessly exploited.
Why do scammers use international calls that start with “+”?
Many fake–police scams come from international phone numbers showing country codes such as “+44.” Common sense says that a Japanese police station would never call from overseas. However, according to Fujiwara, the criminals deliberately make use of this unnatural detail.
“That’s a filter for the scammers. Smart people who notice something suspicious from the start are a waste of time. By boldly making suspicious calls, they efficiently select only the people who don’t notice. In the end, they make victims do unreasonable things such as transferring huge amounts at ATMs, so from the beginning they target only the easiest marks. It’s a very rational method.”
Even more frightening is the existence of their manual. It is not a persuasion guide. It is a brainwashing manualdesigned to stop the target’s thinking and gain psychological control.
“Their manual is structured so that the victim can say only affirmative words like yes or ‘I understand.’ For example, the fake officer says, ‘Your bank account is being used for a crime. If this continues, you will become a suspect.’ At these words, the victim feels intense fear—‘I’ve been caught up in a crime’—and loses the ability to think calmly. When the startled victim asks, ‘What should I do?’, the scammer continues, ‘To clear your name, we need to investigate your account. That’s acceptable, right?’ and forces a yes.
In this way, they repeatedly create situations in which the only possible answer is yes. Humans who repeat affirmative words like yes more than five times enter a state of self-suggestion and lose normal judgment. The scammers call this psychological state ‘maku’ (to wrap someone). They put the victim in a brainwashed state and make them obedient.”
They don’t need logical persuasion. They simply drive the victim into mental shutdown and turn them into a puppet. Even if the victim starts to regain awareness, the scammer just calls again: “Have you made the transfer yet?” Once a person has been wrapped even once, they fall back into the brainwashed state.
Cambodia is known for fraud bases, but in reality they are spread across Asia—South Korea, China’s autonomous regions, Thailand, Malaysia, and others. These bases operate using the vast criminal networks built by Chinese mafias said to have over 200 years of history.
“For them, fake-police scams are just one business out of many. Originally they engaged in human trafficking, drug smuggling, prostitution networks, and various other illegal businesses. Their bases and routes—their territory—extend across all of Asia.
Fake-police scams are carried out using that existing infrastructure. From their perspective, special fraud is low-grade crime. That’s why even some random young guy they tricked into joining can do it.” (Fujiwara)
Fake-police scams exploit the authority and credibility of the police. They are no longer mere fraud schemes—they have become organized crime that eats away at the very trust structure of Japanese society. The once-shocking 300 million yen robbery is now becoming everyday compared to the rampant spread of fake-police scams.
