TOKYO –
Anonymous and fluid legal teams identified in Japan as “tokuryu” are adopting more and more elaborate ways, together with a scheme by which aged victims are persuaded to cover money inside fridges earlier than thieves enter their houses, as authorities battle to fight networks whose members typically don’t have any direct contact with each other.
About 12,000 folks had been arrested in 2025 for involvement with tokuryu, a time period referring to loosely organized legal teams whose members steadily change whereas finishing up crimes similar to specialised fraud and theft.
The teams usually divide duties amongst a number of layers. Some members devise plans for robberies and different crimes, recruiters discover folks to hold them out, coordinators present directions on instances and areas, and perpetrators commit the precise offenses.
Members typically talk solely by smartphones, utilizing social media and extremely safe messaging purposes. In many circumstances, contributors have by no means met and know little about each other’s identities.
Those recruited as perpetrators are steadily drawn in by unlawful job commercials posted on social media utilizing phrases similar to “high income,” “same-day payment” and “legitimate work.”
The construction makes investigations troublesome as a result of regulation enforcement authorities can battle to establish who is definitely directing the crimes. Investigators say some circumstances are additionally organized throughout nationwide borders, additional complicating efforts to uncover the networks.
A case in Tokyo’s Machida in August demonstrated how the strategies have gotten more and more subtle.
The sufferer, a lady in her 80s, first acquired a phone name from a person claiming to be a postal employee. He requested whether or not she had tried to ship a suspicious package deal to Hong Kong and advised her that she would quickly obtain a name from Shizuoka Prefectural Police.
Shortly afterward, a person claiming to be a police officer known as and advised the lady that her private info had been misused.
During the dialog, the caller requested how she saved her cash. The lady advised him that she had 1 million yen in money at residence.
The man then instructed her to assemble all the cash and place it in her fridge, telling her, “Even a burglar will not look inside a refrigerator, so it is safe.”
Believing the caller, the lady positioned the 1 million yen in her fridge.
The cash was not stolen instantly.
Instead, the person posing as a police officer continued calling the lady on daily basis. He typically requested whether or not she had modified the place the cash was being saved and questioned her about when she deliberate to go away residence.
Authorities say such repeated contact could make victims really feel that the caller is looking for them and steadily strengthen their belief.
Postal staff and cops would by no means make such requests, and investigators say fraudsters posing as police typically converse calmly, making their claims seem extra convincing and rising the chance that victims will comply with their directions.
The lady ultimately advised the caller when she deliberate to exit. Five days after the primary phone name, whereas she was away from residence, somebody entered the residence and stole the 1 million yen from the fridge.
Investigators imagine the drawn-out strategy could also be deliberate. Introducing a number of supposed officers one after one other can confuse a sufferer, whereas repeated calls over a number of days can steadily create a way of belief earlier than the crime is carried out.
Tokuryu teams have confirmed troublesome to dismantle as a result of arrests typically contain folks on the lowest ranges slightly than these directing the operations. Although about 12,000 folks had been arrested in 2025, these controlling the networks steadily stay past investigators’ attain, permitting new perpetrators to be recruited and crimes to proceed.
Source: TBS