A woman in her 60s in Aomori Prefecture was deceived by men posing as police officers and made to transfer ¥65.95 million. She made a total of 27 cash transfers from mid-July to early August, and the full extent of the loss was eventually discovered.
According to the Aomori Prefectural Police, which announced the case on the 1st, a woman in her 60s was targeted in a special fraud scheme and ¥65.95 million was stolen from her. The loss came to light in late July. She first came into contact by phone with a man posing as a police officer and transferred cash to an account he designated.
The transfers began on 16 July after she was told that they concerned an unpaid bill to Tohoku Electric Power, and continued for a total of 27 transfers from 17 July to 8 August. She was guided to a LINE video call and was reportedly asked to cooperate in order to prove her innocence.
The man posing as a police officer stressed the duty of confidentiality and told her that she could be arrested if she refused to cooperate with the investigation. She followed his instructions and continued transferring money to the designated account, but later realized, after advice from people involved in the investigation, that she should have stopped the transfers.
On 28 July, police officers who had received information from a financial institution met with the woman and urged her to stop transferring money, but she continued to follow the instructions. She eventually realized the full extent of the loss and decided to take action.