Lured with High-Paying Part-Time Jobs, Then Held Captive; Tortured for Poor Sales… The Terror of a Fraud Ring Exposed by an Undercover Investigation in Tokuryu

Members share numerous images depicting the merciless punishment of a traitor

A man has been stripped of his clothes and thrown onto the floor. His hands and feet are shackled, leaving him unable to even stand up. In the next instant, a stun gun appears from off-screen, touches the man’s body, and flashes with a crackling sound.

The man’s screams echoed through the room as, without a moment’s respite, several people kicked him in the head and body. Even after he lost consciousness, there was no sign that the assault would end. What the FRIDAY reporter witnessed was footage of horrific torture carried out by members of “Tokuryu.”

There is no end in sight to the damage caused by special fraud schemes carried out by the “Anonymous, Fluid Crime Group (Tokuryu).” Last year, the number of reported cases rose by 30 percent year-over-year to approximately 28,000, and the total amount of losses reached a record high of approximately 140 billion yen.In particular, “fake police officer scams”—in which perpetrators pose as detectives over the phone and extort money by hinting at arrest—have become a major social problem, with the amount of money defrauded swelling to approximately 99 billion yen.

“Taking the situation seriously, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department established the ‘Tokuryu Countermeasures Headquarters’ last October. It has assembled 200 investigators with the goal of dismantling Tokuryu,” said a reporter from the social affairs section of a national newspaper.

What makes Tokuryu unusual is that it is organized much like a regular company, and in many cases, the perpetrators themselves lack a sense of guilt, viewing their activities purely as a business. A former “call operator” who worked for a Cambodian organization described it this way:

“The ‘box’ (the term for a fraud team) I was in mainly handled fake police officer scams. We ‘started work’ at 8:00 a.m. We’d gather from our private rooms to the office within the same building, put on our headsets, and begin ‘work.’ We’d operate tablets set up on our desks to call targets.

The numbers to call were selected in advance by senior management, and the system was set up so that the target’s name and address would appear on the screen. Except for lunch breaks and bathroom breaks, we were constantly on the phone. We’d finish calling around 6:00 p.m., hold a debriefing session for about an hour, and that concluded our ‘work day.’”

The biggest difference from private companies is the reign of terror enforced through violence. The video at the beginning captures a part of this reality. A current Japanese member of the fraud organization explained it this way:

“Since it’s a space beyond the reach of the police, the ‘box’ is a lawless zone. Even when recruiting members, it has become standard practice to lure people in via social media or word of mouth with promises of ‘high-paying part-time jobs with good pay,’ then kidnap them once they arrive on-site.Afterward, they force them to do ‘work’ while held captive, and if their ‘sales’ are poor, they subject them to torture involving beatings and kicks.

In the case of particularly brutal organizations, they make the victims work until they’re exhausted without paying them, and even demand ransom from the victims’ families. In Telegram group chats among members of these fraud organizations, videos and photos of torture are routinely shared, and it’s not uncommon for organizations to use them as a warning to others.”

Criminal Groups Operating in Southeast Asia Are a Hotbed for the Spread of Special Fraud Schemes in Japan

A FRIDAY reporter infiltrated a group chat belonging to a fraud ring based in Southeast Asia. Just as one of the members had pointed out, the chat was overflowing with videos and photos depicting punishments meted out to traitors.

A man alleged to have betrayed the organization had blood caked on his nose and mouth, and his face was so severely swollen that he could not open his eyes. There was also a photo of a man who, accused of stealing the organization’s property, was forced to sit in the seiza position after being beaten so severely that the skin on his back was peeling.

“Originally, the purpose of this chat was to share information about crackdowns by the authorities. However, torture videos gradually began circulating. Recently, there have even been cases where victims post footage of the torture they’ve endured to report the abuse,” he said.

The video mentioned at the beginning is a prime example of this. It was one of the videos posted in the chat in question, accompanied by a photo of a man believed to be the organization’s boss and the caption, “Exposing his evil deeds.”

A series of accusations followed, including claims that members were being killed as a result of routine beatings, and the post concluded with a curse: “I will become an evil spirit and never forgive you.” Were they attempting to expose the reality of this excessive, violent rule from within?

These numerous criminal groups lurking in Southeast Asia have become a breeding ground for sophisticated fraud schemes, the damage from which is spreading in Japan. Among them, Cambodia is known as a major hub where such fraud organizations proliferate.

“In many cases, Cambodian fraud organizations are run by Chinese or Taiwanese mafia groups. Some have purchased local resort hotels or condominiums to use as hideouts, while others are based in special economic zones—known as ‘enku’—operated by Chinese-owned companies.

There are also organizations that lease land owned by local power brokers to operate ‘boxes.’ In these cases, while substantial bribes and protection money are required, there is the advantage that they are difficult for the police to crack down on.The “products” (schemes) they handle vary widely, including fake police officer scams, romance scams, investment scams using social media, and tax refund scams. The size of these “bases” ranges from as few as about 10 people to as many as several hundred,” (ibid.)

In recent years, a series of crackdowns by Cambodian authorities has led to the successive raids on fraud operations, causing a sharp increase in the number of organizations fleeing the country. They are reportedly now scrambling to find new bases of operation.

“Chinese mafia groups have already begun moving to Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and various parts of Africa. Taiwanese mafia groups are expanding their reach into Europe. Fraud can be carried out anywhere as long as there is an internet connection. No matter how many hideouts are raided, they will never disappear” (ibid).

While ruling its members through fear, Tokuryu continues to expand its reach into sophisticated fraud schemes—

From the August 21 & 28, 2026, combined issue of *FRIDAY*