TOKYO, Mar 30 (News On Japan) –
A brand new sort of fraud exploiting multi-function copy machines at comfort shops has been reported throughout Japan, the place victims are deceived into printing pretend authorized paperwork and handing over cash.
The scheme begins with a telephone name from somebody posing as a police officer, who tells the sufferer they’re suspected of a criminal offense and instructs them to go to a comfort retailer to print “evidence” paperwork.
Following the caller’s directions, the sufferer enters a reservation quantity into the shop’s multi-copy machine, which then prints paperwork labeled as arrest warrants or written statements. These supplies are solely fabricated however designed to seem official, convincing victims of their legitimacy earlier than cash is demanded.
Nishinaka Tomonori, a police inspector with the Hokkaido Prefectural Police’s group security division, defined that the tactic is meant to construct belief by permitting victims to bodily see the paperwork, making the deception extra convincing.
In Hokkaido, authorities say they’ve obtained a number of reviews of such scams since December 2025.
Police stress that officers would by no means instruct people to make use of multi-copy machines on this method and that any paperwork produced by such directions are utterly pretend.
They are urging the general public to contact the devoted police session hotline #9110 in the event that they obtain suspicious calls of this nature.
Source: FNN