Japan police warn of fake arrest warrants and lost property scams

Japanese police are issuing warnings regarding new fraudulent schemes involving impersonation of official authorities. The Metropolitan Police Department has alerted the public to fake envelopes claiming to be from the “Metropolitan Police Department Lost and Found Center.” These fraudulent mailings use QR codes to direct victims to fake websites designed to steal personal information, such as My Number details. Indicators of these fakes include the absence of postage stamps and the use of mobile phone numbers for contact.

Separately, authorities are reporting an increase in scams where fake arrest warrants are mailed directly to residences via Letter Pack. These schemes often target elderly individuals who may not use social media. In one instance in Hokkaido, a victim was defrauded of 6.9 million yen after being contacted by individuals posing as delivery personnel and police officers. Fraudulent warrants have been identified by linguistic inconsistencies, such as the use of Chinese character variants for certain Japanese kanji. Police emphasize that they never send arrest warrants via mail or request bail money through such methods.