Latest news with #policeImpersonation
Japan Times
08-07-2025
- Japan Times
Scams involving police impersonation surge
Japan is seeing a sharp rise in scams involving individuals posing as police officers, with losses exceeding ¥31.6 billion ($217 million) in the first five months of 2025. The National Police Agency has launched a nationwide awareness campaign for such cases, warning that increasingly sophisticated means of committing fraud — involving spoofed phone numbers, social media messages and video calls — are being used to target victims. Police impersonation scams alone accounted for 3,816 recognized fraud cases between January and May this year, according to the agency. Victims span multiple generations, with cases involving people in their 20s and 30s accounting for 40% of them. Many of these cases began with a simple phone call. In one incident, a victim received a call from what appeared to be the official number for the headquarters of the Aichi Prefectural Police. The caller, a woman claiming to be an officer, said a bank account had been fraudulently opened under the victim's name and that they were now under suspicion for money laundering. The conversation was continued on a video call on a social media app, during which a man posing as a police officer displayed what looked like an official ID and instructed the victim to transfer ¥2.5 million to an account for 'verification purposes.' The victim only realized that she had been defrauded after she contacted the real police department afterward. Scammers have also been using international phone numbers and automated voice messages to initiate contact. In one case, a man received a call from an overseas number warning him that his mobile phone service would be suspended in two hours. After following a series of voice prompts, he was transferred to someone who claimed that a phone contract registered under his name had been used in a crime. The scammer then suggested that the man file a report via a messaging app. A video call soon followed, which involved an impersonator claiming to be from the Kagoshima Prefectural Police. The man became suspicious and ended the call. Other schemes have involved fake websites designed to look like official police pages. In Hyogo Prefecture, a man lost ¥2 million in a scam in which he was directed by a scammer to visit a fraudulent site resembling the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's homepage. When he entered a case number into the site's search bar, a fake arrest warrant bearing his name appeared. More recently, some of these scams have expanded to include sexual exploitation. Since January, police have confirmed at least 32 cases in which women were coerced into sending nude images or videos during video calls. The victims were told they needed to undergo 'full body inspections' by scammers who often recorded the footage to use for further extortion. The NPA has stressed that police officers do not contact individuals via social media, send images of IDs or warrants, initiate video calls, or ask citizens to move money or sign new mobile phone contracts. Police also do not instruct individuals to isolate themselves from family or check their bank account balances for investigative purposes. The agency is urging the public to be cautious and to hang up immediately if contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer, encouraging them to visit their local police station or call the consultation hotline rather than return any calls using the numbers provided by potential scammers.
The Herald
16-06-2025
- The Herald
10 days on, no sign of Kamogelo Baukudi: Free State education MEC calls for public's help in finding him
This Sunday marks 10 days since the alleged kidnapping of grade 11 pupil Kamogelo Baukudi and despite police efforts to locate him, he remains missing. Free State education MEC Mantlhake Maboya has appealed to the public to assist police in finding Kamogelo and bringing him back home safely. 'We're concerned and would appeal to members of the public to assist us to assist the police, to assist the family so that we can bring back this boy to the family and the school,' Maboya said. The 19-year-old was allegedly kidnapped by two men impersonating police officers on June 5 . According to a TimesLIVE report, the complainant, Daniel Malebatso, allegedly arrived at Martie du Plessis Special School in Fichardt Park as usual to fetch Baukudi. Provincial police spokesperson Lt-Col Thabo Covane said the two left the school premises with Baukudi driving the Suzuki Ertiga. Malebatso alleged that while driving on Vereeniging Drive in Ehrlich Park, they heard a siren sound from behind and were pulled over by occupants in a white Toyota Hilux GD-6 double cab. Covane said inside the Toyota Hilux there were two unknown men, one wearing a police uniform and the other a blue tracksuit. The suspects' bakkie was allegedly fitted with blue lights on the grill and what appeared to be a police radio inside. Covane said the suspect wearing a police uniform told Malebatso the Suzuki Ertiga they were driving was suspected of delivering drugs. The suspects then allegedly separated Baukudi and Malebatso and instructed Malebatso to drive his vehicle in front of theirs while they followed to the Park Road police station. 'The two vehicles turned back and drove in a westerly direction on Vereeniging Drive. Malebatso alleged a truck moved in between the two vehicles and he did not see the Hilux again. He said one suspect was speaking Sesotho fluently and mentioned the name 'Thipe'. Cellphones belonging to Baukudi and Malebatso were found under a bridge on Ferreira Road.' The Free State department of education said it is working closely with the police and other stakeholders to ensure Kamogelo's safe return. Meanwhile, a 42-year-old police sergeant arrested in connection with the alleged kidnapping case briefly appeared in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court last week and remains in custody. The matter was postponed to June 24 to allow for an identity parade to be conducted. The court heard the missing teenager is needed to identify the suspect, but the process cannot proceed as he is still missing. TimesLIVE
BBC News
30-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Police impersonator who took £50k from elderly people jailed
A man who impersonated a police officer to take more than £50,000 from elderly people has been Butters, 27, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court after being involved in courier frauds in eight different areas in the to Thames Valley Police victims received phone calls from an unknown person impersonating a police officer or bank investigator who asked them to hand over cash, bank cards and would then impersonate a police officer while visiting the addresses to collect the items. Police said one victim was a women in her 70s from Flackwell Heath, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, On 7 January 2025 she had answered a call from an unknown number on her mobile phone from a man who pretended to be from Scotland Yard's Action calls which lasted for more than six hours throughout the day, the victim was told her bank cards had been used fraudulently and were needed as evidence to arrest somebody in the local was told if she did not hand over the cards she would be arrested went to the woman's address later that day and collected three bank cards, which he used to buy iPhones worth £5,896. The force worked with Merseyside Police and Cheshire Constabulary in the Con Claire Nangle, the officer in charge of the Thames Valley case, said: "Butters showed a complete disregard for his victims by pressuring them to co-operate in his fictional covert operation, taking advantage of their trusting nature. "This sentence reflects the seriousness of his offending, aggravated by the fact that he systematically targeted vulnerable, elderly victims."On 19 May Butters was sentenced after previously admitting to four counts of fraud by false representation at the same court. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Malay Mail
09-05-2025
- Malay Mail
Caught on CCTV: Fake cops rob retiree's home in Semenyih, Kajang police launch manhunt (VIDEO)
KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 — Police are tracking down five individuals who posed as police officers and robbed a residence in Semenyih near Kajang last Sunday. Kajang District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Naazron Abdul Yusof said the incident occurred at 5.02am while the 55-year-old victim, a retiree, was at home with three other family members, according to a report in Berita Harian today. 'CCTV footage shows the suspects wearing face masks, with two of them donning police vests, entering the victim's home. 'They forced open the front door before stealing two mobile phones and about RM500 in cash,' he said in a statement today. The incident went viral after the CCTV footage was uploaded on social media, showing a group of men — some wearing police vests — attempting to break into the home, with one of them seen kicking the door. Naazron added that total losses were estimated at RM9,000 and a special operation has been launched to track down the suspects. The case is being investigated under Section 395 of the Penal Code for gang robbery and Section 170 for impersonating a public servant. 'Police urge members of the public with any information on the incident to contact their nearest police station.'Information can also be directed to the investigating officer, Inspector Ghazali Zulkifli, at 016-9140758 to assist with the investigation,' he said.
