Police‑related fraud scams in Taiwan

In late July 2026, New Taipei City’s police and land administration launched a targeted anti‑fraud campaign aimed at seniors and working‑age adults. The effort combined face‑to‑face education, printed alerts and workplace seminars, and was reinforced by joint police‑land‑agency checks that stopped a fraudulent mortgage application. Reported fraud cases among the senior group fell by more than 90%, to just seven incidents in a year.

Within days, investigators in Taiwan and Japan reported separate police‑impersonation scams that extracted large sums of cash and cryptocurrency. In Taoyuan, a 41‑year‑old woman was defrauded of NT$130,000, leading police to capture a suspect attempting to withdraw additional funds. In Japan’s Ehime Prefecture, a corporate board member was duped by callers posing as police and a mobile‑phone company, losing roughly ¥14.9 million in cryptocurrency. Both incidents highlighted how fraudsters continue to exploit public trust in law‑enforcement, underscoring the need for ongoing public‑awareness measures despite recent successes.

The two snapshots together show a dual trajectory: proactive, cross‑agency prevention dramatically reducing local senior fraud, alongside emerging sophisticated scams that still target citizens by masquerading as police, prompting further investigative and warning actions.