Japanese police arrested two suspects accused of helping an overseas fraud network steal about ¥81 million in cryptocurrency from a woman after callers allegedly posed as police officers during calls.
What Happened in the Japan Crypto Scam?
A woman in her 40s was approached via phone by a man who identified himself as an officer at the Osaka police office. The news of the arrests was reported by FNN on Sept. 25.
Police arrested 31-year-old Saki Okayama and 38-year-old Mitsuki Minamisawa. Both are believed to have been working with a bigger fraud ring out of Cambodia.
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The caller purportedly informed the woman that her bank card was discovered in a huge money laundering case. The losses were approximately ¥600 billion, he said.
The group also stated that approximately 400 accounts were used to launder funds. The woman was then informed that she was about to be arrested.
According to police information cited by FNN, the callers told her to prove her innocence. This pressure caused her to send cryptocurrency amounting to approximately ¥81 million.
The assets were reported to be worth approximately $515,000. It is not clear which cryptocurrencies were sent.
The destination wallets’ addresses are also not disclosed by the police. So the flow of the money after the transfer is not evident with public reporting.
The Japan crypto scam relied on false claims of police authority. According to investigators, the group manipulated the victim to send digital assets because of the threat to apprehend him.
Who Was Arrested and Who Else Is Under Investigation?
Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested Okayama and Minamisawa over their suspected roles in the scheme. Neither suspect has been convicted in connection with the allegations.
Police believe the two were linked to a wider organization. FNN said confirmed losses in fraud cases involving them have reached about ¥240 million.
Investigators suspect the network operated from Cambodia. They also believe a Chinese national directed the operation.
Authorities have not publicly named that person. They have also not disclosed the exact location used by the suspected group in Cambodia.
The Japan crypto scam remains part of a wider investigation. Police are examining how members contacted victims and handled the proceeds.
No public report has established a connection between this case and other named Cambodia-based fraud groups. Investigators have not identified the suspected organization behind the operation.
Where Did the Fraud Network Allegedly Operate?
The police have established that the operation originated in Cambodia, located over 4,000 km away from Japan, through which telephone numbers the suspects reportedly contacted victims within Japan.
The suspect’s overseas location imbues the case with transnational characteristics; authorities are probing possible coordination between the calling party and local facilitators of the money transfer process.
The Japan crypto scam falls into a broader series of ongoing cases concerning overseas fraudulent schemes, although the present case has yet to be explicitly connected to the Prince Group or any other particular organization.
In June, Japanese police arrested a suspected senior member of the Prince Group. Tokyo police detained Hu Xiaowei on charges of false residency registration.
This probe targets Mr. Hu’s dealings within Japan. No press reports currently link him to the ¥81 million scam.
South Korean police also probed cryptocurrency fraud originating in Cambodia. They arrested twenty-three suspects in June on suspicion of a USDT money-laundering scheme.
This affair reportedly involved laundering 16.8 billion won worth of funds. Prosecutors claimed involvement of over eleven thousand bank accounts.
Cambodia too is stepping up efforts to crack down on organized cyber-scamming operations with harsher punishments. Its legislature enacted relevant legislation in April.
This legislative effort followed mounting international pressure to take action against cyber-fraud hub operations located within Cambodia.
Why Are Fake Police Scams Drawing More Attention?
The Japan crypto scam emerges amidst growing nationwide financial losses arising from fraudulent ‘fake police scams. Data released by the National Police Agency quantify the extent of damage suffered.
There were reported financial losses amounting to ¥61.71 billion resulting from such scams within the first seven months of 2026. Authorities recorded 5,422 cases through the end of July.
Cases reported declined by 6.4% compared to the corresponding period last year. Financial losses were up sharply by 25.7% despite the decline in incident numbers.
The National Police Agency introduced the crime category “fake police fraud” to its statistics for 2026, owing to its growing prevalence.
Total special fraud losses amounted to ¥210.81bn until July. This was a 42.9% rise year-over-year.
From January to June 2026, Japanese police reported ¥50.79 billion worth of losses from fake police scams. An average completed incident has inflicted an estimated ¥11.64 million on its victims.
In contrast, ¥81 million was claimed as the Japan crypto scam loss, far above that first-half average. The sum represented nearly seven times greater than this average.
In another September 25 case, a 70-year-old man suffered a ¥73 million loss after receiving calls purporting to originate from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.
Reportedly, the callers asked him to transfer funds as evidence of his innocence. Police authorities noted explicitly that investigators never ask suspects to move funds to designated bank accounts.
Authorities have documented similar tactics in other cases. Scammers often warn their targets of imminent arrests or accuse them of participation in some criminal conduct.
Such intimidations usually span multiple telephone conversations. Later, the scammers make demands for fund transfers disguised as necessary for investigation purposes.
When Did Japan Tighten Crypto Fraud Controls?
Japan’s financial regulators tightened focus on cryptocurrency anti-fraud controls in 2026. The FSA and NPA made requests to crypto exchanges in August regarding enhanced withdrawal verification procedures.
The regulator proposed imposing waiting periods before any new wallet address registration could process withdrawal requests, alongside improved vigilance over abnormal account transactions.
The Japan crypto scam highlights the urgency behind such regulatory measures: cryptocurrencies can be utilized by scammers once victims are instilled with fear via impersonation scams.
The National Police Agency reported 18,067 special fraud cases till May 2026, resulting in losses totalling ¥151.47 billion. Among these, fake police scams constituted ¥40.32 billion in losses; warnings had been issued separately regarding crypto investment frauds.
How Are Crypto Fraud Cases Expanding Across Japan?
Cases involving social media contacts, as well as matching apps leading to online investments, have been reported by Tokyo Metropolitan Police. The fraudsters exploit the victims’ trust, directing them to phishing websites posing as legitimate investment platforms.
An incident occurred in Gifu in September, targeting a woman in her seventies, when persons impersonating police officers and prosecutors advised her to move her financial resources into cryptocurrencies.
She incurred losses amounting to ¥39.29 million in digital currency, alongside further losses of ¥2 million in cash. This indicates an evolving trend whereby the perpetrator employs impersonation and digital wallets.
The Japan crypto scam inquiry continues to focus on the Cambodian network, investigating the alleged director as well as the transfer of the illicit gains.
The FNN news agency reports losses totaling ¥240 million attributed to confirmed fraud perpetrated by the suspects under interrogation. No convictions have been announced, nor has any information regarding the specific cryptocurrencies used in this incident been released publicly.
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