Tag - fraud

 
 

FRAUD

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which polices deceptive advertising practices, saw a jump in complaints over the past year about ads that either used AI or claimed to use it to lure people into scams.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2024
AI scam complaints are just the tip of the iceberg
The U.S. FTC, which polices deceptive advertising practices, saw a jump in complaints over the past year about ads using AI to lure people into scams.
Official data indicates at least 17,000 South Korean residents have been hit by real estate fraud in recent years, and around 70% of victims are in their 20s and 30s.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
May 27, 2024
Debt, suicide, fraud: South Koreans hit by real estate scams
Authorities draw flak for not doing enough to help victims or punish fraudsters who capitalize on the country's unique jeonse system in which tenants pay huge deposits.
The Takarazuka Grand Theater in the city of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture. A former top star of the Takarazuka Revue has been arrested for fraud.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2024
Former Takarazuka star arrested over alleged ¥10 million fraud
Police allege that Terumi Ogura convinced an acquaintance to invest the money by deceiving her that she was planning to produce a movie.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 16, 2024
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Yusaku Maezawa is suing Meta for its negligence in regulating the use of his name and image in investment scams on its social media platforms.
A former employee of Bandai Namco Entertainment was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly embezzling ¥54 million by selling company-owned mobile phones and other items meant for game development.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 15, 2024
Ex-employee of Bandai Namco unit arrested over ¥54 million embezzlement
The man, 59, allegedly sold about 500 company-owned smartphones and other items without permission to a Tokyo-based secondhand store.
Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, leaves federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
BASEBALL / MLB
May 15, 2024
Ohtani interpreter appears in court over $17 million fraud
A lawyer for Ippei Mizuhara said the 39-year-old has reached a deal with prosecutors over his charges.
Special fraud cases in Tokyo in which stolen money was sent via online banking services grew some fivefold from the previous year in 2023.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 12, 2024
Money stolen via online transfers up fivefold in Tokyo
Since many people use online banking services on a daily basis, the number of fraud cases involving such services is expected to grow.
A police officer from the Metropolitan Police Department visits a homeowner in Tokyo to increase awareness of roof inspection scams. The number of complaints made to the National Consumer Affairs Center in relation to such scams tripled between 2018 and 2022.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 9, 2024
Tokyo police warn against costly roofing scams
Deceitful contractors coax homeowners into undertaking costly and unnecessary repairs by falsely claiming their roofs are damaged.
The National Police Agency coined the term "tokuryū" to classify individuals involved in dark part time jobs and quasi-gangsters, using the words "tokumei" (anonymous) and "ryūdo" (fluid) to reflect their characteristics.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
May 6, 2024
Tokuryū, a new crime menace in Japan, emerges from the shadows
Unlike the yakuza, which have a hierarchical structure and strict codes of conduct, they lack a clear organizational structure and thrive on anonymity.
The smartphone screen of a man in his 70s from the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture shows exchanges with a person claiming to be a woman from Taiwan discussing investment in gold.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Regional Voices: Fukushima
May 6, 2024
Online predators seduce elderly victims into investment scams
Cases of people being swindled out of money show working-age people are also falling victim.
Takuya Hirai, head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s digital promotion working group
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2024
Facebook scams demand stricter online rules, Japan lawmaker says
Lawmakers in the Diet are considering summoning Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to testify before them regarding fake ads on Facebook.
Police have arrested a Nigerian man on suspicion of smuggling stimulant drugs from Britain and tricking his romance scam victim into picking it up.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 26, 2024
Nigerian nabbed in Japan for drug smuggling through romance scam
Police say similar cases of romance scam victims being tricked into helping smuggle illegal drugs continue to occur.
Four scam victims in Japan have sued Meta over fake online investment ads posted on Facebook that use images of celebrities.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2024
Meta sued in Japan over celebrity investment scams
Social media online hoaxes in Japan led to ¥27.8 billion in losses last year, according to the National Police Agency.
A police box set up on a road in Bangkok. Thai police have obtained arrest warrants for two Japanese men suspected of being involved in the death of another Japanese man.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2024
Body parts of Japanese man found in Thailand
Police believe that the man was a member of a fraud organization.
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 17, 2024
Police warn against investment scams on social media
Scammers are posing as prominent businesspeople to increase credibility and to lure victims into "get rich quick” schemes.
Counterfeit credit cards at the Osaka Prefectural Police Department in November
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 10, 2024
Illicit credit card use damage hits record high in Japan
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry aims to strengthen measures to prevent such damage.
A fake website claiming to be that of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (left) and the actual site
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 5, 2024
Tokyo police issue warning on phishing scam involving false claims of arrest warrants
Tokyo police issue warning against scam involving fake websites aimed at getting victims to disclose their personal information and bank account details.
Mobile phones seized from an apartment room in Phnom Penh in relation to a special fraud case are shown at a police station in Saitama Prefecture in November.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 22, 2024
Arrests of 'tokuryū' gang members estimated to have topped 10,000
More than 10,000 members of so-called tokuryū criminal groups are believed to have been arrested in Japan in the three years through 2023, a National Police Agency (NPA) survey showed Thursday.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government holds an event in Tokyo in November to increase people's awareness for fraud and 'dark' part-time jobs. Recruitment ads for such jobs formed some 90% of deletion requests made to internet service providers last year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 15, 2024
Nearly 3,000 postings for 'dark' part-time jobs removed from internet in 2023
Recruitment ads for such jobs formed the bulk of deletion requests made to Japanese internet service providers last year.
Yusuke Yamazaki, former president of Nishiyama Farm, arrives at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 13, 2024
Ex-Nishiyama Farm president arrested after deportation from Indonesia
Yusuke Yamazaki had been on the international wanted list for his alleged involvement in investment fraud involving overseas fruit sales.

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