Japan arrests 2 suspects after fake police allegedly tricked a woman into transferring 81 million yen in a crypto fraud.
Japan has arrested 2 suspects linked to a Cambodia-based crypto fraud network targeting Japanese victims. Police suspect losses reached 240 million yen.
Japan Police Arrest 2 Suspects Over Crypto Transfer
Saki Okayama, 31, and Mitsuki Minamisawa, 38, were arrested by the Tokyo police. Both suspects are believed to have been involved in fake police officer fraud.
???????? Au Japon, une femme a perdu léquivalent de plus de 500 000 $ en cryptos après que de faux policiers lui ont demandé de transférer ses fonds pour… « prouver son innocence ».
L‘arnaque aurait été orchestrée depuis un centre d’appels au Cambodge. Les escrocs se faisaient…
The suspects reportedly called a woman in her 40s. During the fraud, they allegedly acted as representatives of Japanese police and prosecutors.
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Then the callers informed the lady that they had found her bank card in a money-laundering case. They also won a huge fraud case with hundreds of accounts.
In addition, the callers reportedly threatened to arrest the woman soon. They then asked her to prove her innocence by transferring her cryptocurrency.
Finally, the woman transferred crypto assets valued at 81 million yen, investigators say. Based on the reported conversion, that figure is about $515,000.
As a result, the incident was one of the bigger crypto fraud cases. Police suspect the suspects were involved in a larger crime network outside Japan.
The suspected group was said to be based in Cambodia, over 4,000 km away from Japan. Investigators also believe the network had a Chinese national as its alleged leader.
The operation was reportedly separated from the victims by the distance between Cambodia and Japan. But Japanese investigators kept pursuing those they believe were involved in the scheme.
Investigators Link Suspects to Wider Crypto Fraud Losses
Police think the two arrested suspects could have been involved in several frauds. The estimated losses from the suspected network were around 240 million yen.
According to the reported currency conversion, that amounts to almost $1.5 million. But investigators are still working on the extent of the alleged crime ring.
FNN reported on September 25 that police arrested Okayama and Minamisawa. The arrests were part of an investigation into fake police fraud, the report said.
In the interim, the suspects allegedly instilled fear in the victims by making official-sounding claims. They are said to have brought the alleged money laundering case to the police as an emergency case.
The woman was allegedly told by the callers that 400 peoples accounts were involved. They also said that the total amount of the fraud case was around 600 billion yen.
In addition, the callers allegedly told her that her card had been linked to those accounts. Then the woman was allegedly coerced into transferring cryptocurrencies due to the threat of arrest.
This technique relies on intimidation and power to force victims to make quick financial choices. Therefore, police continue examining communications, transfers, and other suspected network activities.
There may be multiple fraud participants across multiple countries and payment methods involved in a crypto fraud. This makes it difficult for investigators to trace transactions before determining who may be suspected members.