Losses from schemes to trick people into thinking they will receive refunds on things such as medical costs were up sharply in 2016, according to the Japanese National Police Agency (NPA).
According to the NPA, cases of refund fraud, which often involve the victim wiring money from an ATM, were first confirmed in 2006. The heaviest losses from refund fraud were recorded in 2008, at about 4.74 billion yen. Police crackdowns and anti-fraud measures led to a subsequent drop, but since 2011 the losses from refund fraud have again been on the rise. From January to November last year, losses totaled around 3.88 billion yen, up from some 2.55 billion yen in 2015.
Meanwhile, losses stemming from overall “special” fraud cases in which fraudsters swindle unspecified people through telephone, fax and email — including refund frauds — were about 5.99 billion yen lower than for the same period the previous year, totaling some 36.8 billion yen.
Due to police crackdowns and other factors, losses from schemes where fraudsters pretend to be family members in need of money — often through direct handoffs of cash — and billing fraud cases in which victims were forced to send money mainly by parcel delivery services, have decreased considerably.
While cash handoffs and sending cash by delivery allow fraudsters to demand large sums at once without being hindered by ATM transfer limits, they also run a high risk of arrest due to police cooperating with the targets to lure the fraudster to the handoff or delivery location, and arrest them. With ATMs, the fraudsters usually go to a distant ATM to withdraw transferred funds, and it takes time for police to track them down. Since 2012, police have identified suspects in 32 to 49 percent of family member fraud cases, but only in 8 to 21 percent of refund fraud cases.
Yoshichika Kato, 83, a real estate firm president living in Minami Ward, Fukuoka, was tricked out of around 1 million yen in July 2015 in a case of refund fraud.
“They took advantage of my wanting to get a refund. I was also overconfident I wouldn’t be fooled,” Kato says.
On July 7, 2015, Kato received a phone call from a man claiming to be “Kawakami, from the health insurance department.”…
MORE: ‘Refund fraud’ schemes rose sharply in 2016: police – The Mainichi