Bank transfer fraud (furikome sagi) is a collective term for special fraud that uses phone calls to deceive victims into believing false stories and transferring money. Police Agency classifications include "It's me" fraud (impersonating family to demand money), fictitious billing fraud (demanding payment for non-existent charges), loan guarantee fraud (demanding deposits as loan conditions), and refund fraud (guiding ATM operations under the pretense of tax refunds).
Techniques have become increasingly sophisticated. "Theater-style" schemes where multiple criminals play roles as police officers, bank employees, and lawyers to corner victims. "Receiver" schemes where criminals come to collect cash cards in person. Methods using electronic money or prepaid cards for payment. Since methods beyond bank transfers have proliferated, the term "special fraud" has come into use. Additionally, voice cloning technology mimicking family voices and caller ID spoofing displaying bank numbers have been reported.
Damage amounts remain serious, with Police Agency statistics showing annual special fraud losses consistently exceeding 30 billion yen. Approximately 80% of victims are aged 65 and over, with elderly people living alone particularly targeted. However, investment and side-job scams targeting people in their 20s-30s are also increasing, making this no longer solely an elderly issue.
Specific preventive measures include: hanging up and consulting family when money is mentioned on the phone, knowing that ATMs cannot process refunds, keeping voicemail always on and not answering unknown numbers directly, checking caller identity with Number Display, and consulting the police consultation dial (#9110) for suspicious calls. Establishing a family code word is also an effective defense against voice clone fraud. Review the latest techniques and countermeasures in bank transfer fraud prevention.