Police filed a record 83 criminal cases of home-renovation fraud last year, of which 34 were suspected to have involved tokury? (anonymous and transient quasi-gangster) groups, data released Thursday by the National Police Agency shows.
The cost of damages in 2025 totaled ¥15.1 billion — a record since the agency began keeping count in 2010. The figure was more than three times the cost of damages during the previous year, when 66 similar cases were reported.
Fraud during home renovation typically involves the offenders posing as contractors and visiting homes to conduct free inspections. Then, they convince the owners that large-scale renovation or construction is needed as soon as possible, making false claims such as severe deterioration of the roof or water pipes and arguing that these pose a potential hazard.
THE TD BANK INSIDER “BRIBE-FOR-DATA” SCHEME (USA)
Date: February 17, 2026 Perpetrator: Edward Low (Former Bank Employee)
Case Description: In a high-profile case of “Insider Threat,” Edward Low, a former employee of TD Bank in New York, pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court to accepting bribes in exchange for confidential customer data. Between 2021 and 2022, Low leveraged his internal access to harvest the personal details of high-balance account holders. He then sold this “hot data” to external fraud syndicates for as little as $26,700 in personal kickbacks.
The external fraudsters used the information Low provided to conduct “Account Takeovers” (ATO), creating fraudulent checks and falsifying bank records to drain over $500,000 from unsuspecting customers. Low even went as far as helping co-conspirators open shell company accounts at a second financial institution where he was later employed. He now faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. This case has sent shockwaves through the global banking sector, highlighting that even the most robust external firewalls cannot protect against a “rogue insider” with administrative credentials.
Link to Original: US Dept of Justice – TD Bank Insider Plea