Japan Police Eyeing Fictitious Accounts for Fraud Probes

   Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government said Tuesday that it will consider allowing police to use fictitious financial accounts for monitoring the flow of money involving fraud groups.
   The government also plans to oblige telecommunications operators to keep communication history to identify suspects in fraud cases.
   The total amount of damage from special fraud cases as well as investment fraud and romance scam cases on social media in Japan came to about 200 billion yen in 2024, according to the National Police Agency. A series of robberies involving "dark part-time jobs" were also reported last year.
   In many cases, criminal groups use accounts in someone else's name, which are traded on social media, as a means of receiving defrauded money or money stolen by robbers.
   By introducing fictitious police accounts, the government also hopes to deter criminal groups from purchasing accounts illegally.

(2025/04/22-11:28)