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▼ Police Say No. Of Cyber Scams In Japan Up 8% In 2023, Most In 10 Yrs
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Japan saw an 8.3 percent increase in the number of police-recognized cyber and phone scams in 2023, with the 19,033 cases the most in 10 years, while the number of people linked to overseas-based crime rings was the highest ever seen, data showed Thursday.
Cases of telecommunications fraud increased for the third consecutive year and the cost to victims jumped 19 percent to 44.1 billion yen ($298 million), up for the second consecutive year, according to the National Police Agency.
Both the number of scams and total cost in 2023 were the fourth highest since data became available in 2004.
Police investigations found a total of 69 overseas-based members of crime rings in Southeast Asian and other countries, the highest figure since data became available in 2019.
While fewer groups are basing themselves in Japan, they are growing in number overseas, the agency said.
Among overall fraud cases, scams involving online transactions more than doubled to 3,343 cases, with the victims losing 2.13 billion yen, up 115 percent.
Cases involving identity theft in which a person's online account, such as with Apple Inc., is compromised and used without the owner's consent are on the rise, the data showed.
The data showed scammers posing as computer virus removal services have become a problem. "Fake technical support services which trick victims into contacting them have impacted the rise in offenses," an agency official said.
Fictitious billing scams, including fake virus pop-ups on websites, soared 75.8 percent to 5,136 cases.
The number of overall crimes in Japan in 2023 increased for the second straight year by 102,020 to 703,351 offenses.
Among them, sexual offenses increased by 1,056 to 2,711, and incidents of unsolicited indecency rose by 1,388 to 6,096 in 2023. The increase was attributed to revisions in the Penal Code which broadened the scope of criminal offenses after going into effect last July.
The same factor led sex crimes, which between January 2022 and June 2023 averaged at about 150 per month, to jump to around 290 per month after the revision.
In addition to the partial changes in the definition of what is a sex crime, it appears efforts to create a better and more accessible environment for reporting offenses contributed to the rise in cases.
Cases of telecommunications fraud increased for the third consecutive year and the cost to victims jumped 19 percent to 44.1 billion yen ($298 million), up for the second consecutive year, according to the National Police Agency.
Both the number of scams and total cost in 2023 were the fourth highest since data became available in 2004.
Police investigations found a total of 69 overseas-based members of crime rings in Southeast Asian and other countries, the highest figure since data became available in 2019.
While fewer groups are basing themselves in Japan, they are growing in number overseas, the agency said.
Among overall fraud cases, scams involving online transactions more than doubled to 3,343 cases, with the victims losing 2.13 billion yen, up 115 percent.
Cases involving identity theft in which a person's online account, such as with Apple Inc., is compromised and used without the owner's consent are on the rise, the data showed.
The data showed scammers posing as computer virus removal services have become a problem. "Fake technical support services which trick victims into contacting them have impacted the rise in offenses," an agency official said.
Fictitious billing scams, including fake virus pop-ups on websites, soared 75.8 percent to 5,136 cases.
The number of overall crimes in Japan in 2023 increased for the second straight year by 102,020 to 703,351 offenses.
Among them, sexual offenses increased by 1,056 to 2,711, and incidents of unsolicited indecency rose by 1,388 to 6,096 in 2023. The increase was attributed to revisions in the Penal Code which broadened the scope of criminal offenses after going into effect last July.
The same factor led sex crimes, which between January 2022 and June 2023 averaged at about 150 per month, to jump to around 290 per month after the revision.
In addition to the partial changes in the definition of what is a sex crime, it appears efforts to create a better and more accessible environment for reporting offenses contributed to the rise in cases.
- 8/2 20:29
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