Damages from special fraud cases, as well as investment frauds and romance scams on social media, totaled approximately 200 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in 2024, according to provisional figures released on Feb. 6.
Each of the two types of scams significantly exceeded the previous year’s figures, making it the worst year on record, as scams are becoming more sophisticated, according to the National Police Agency.
“The situation is extremely serious,” the NPA said.
The NPA will crack down on fraud groups and take measures to deter damage in cooperation with financial institutions and others.
Damages from special fraud cases totaled 72.15 billion yen, up 59.4 percent from the previous year.
Losses from investment scams on social media more than tripled from the previous year to 87.1 billion yen, while damages from romance scams more than doubled to 39.7 billion yen.
All combined, the losses amounted to 198.95 billion yen, 2.2 times that of the previous year.
The number of special fraud cases increased 10.2 percent to 20,987, and more than 60 percent of the victims were aged 65 or older.
Among the different tactics used, so-called “oreore-sagi” fraud cases, in which the scammer pretends to be the victim’s family member, increased by 68.7 percent, accounting for more than 30 percent of all scams last year.
Scammers in the guise of police officers were also a significant problem.
Among the phone numbers used in scams, 48,805 calls were made from international phone numbers, such as ones beginning with “+01,” 3.5 times as many as in the previous year.
Investment scams using social networking sites, in which the perpetrator impersonates a celebrity to lure victims into investing, and romance scams, in which the perpetrator seduces the victims and then defrauds them of money, have become more prominent since 2023.
In 2024, the number of social networking site-related scams increased 2.8 times to 6,380 cases. The average amount of damages per case exceeded 13 million yen.
Romance scams increased 2.4 times to 3,784 cases. The average amount of damages per case was more than 10 million yen.
The methods used by criminals to contact victims have changed.
In 2024, regulations were strengthened on banner advertisements impersonating celebrities on social networking sites.
On the other hand, the number of cases in which the perpetrator and the victim communicated through direct messages sharply increased.
In the case of romance scams, many of the victims were contacted through dating apps.
Meanwhile, police have stepped up efforts to crack down on fraud.
In April 2024, a special fraud joint investigation team was established to enable prompt investigations without being limited to the jurisdiction of prefectural and metropolitan police.
The team cooperated in tracking down suspects and uncovered 322 cases.
In addition, since many fraud groups are based overseas, police have promoted cooperation with the countries in which scammers are based.
In 2024, police extradited and arrested a total of 50 fraud suspects from four countries.
