Losses from special fraud in Japan reached ¥261.0bn in the nine months to September 2026, up ¥48.39bn, or 22.8%, on the same period a year earlier, according to provisional National Police Agency figures. Recognised cases rose 11.0% to 33,329. The agency's own arithmetic puts the average at about ¥960mn lost per day over the 273 days.
The agency defines special fraud as crime in which victims are won over by phone or social media without meeting the offender and are then tricked into sending money by transfer or other means. Cash extortion and card theft in the same schemes are counted too.
Investment scams lead
Social-media investment fraud is the biggest category. It produced 7,580 cases, up 1,661 (28.1%), and ¥99.1bn in losses, up ¥21.22bn (27.2%). The agency puts the average loss per completed case at ¥13.14mn, the highest of any method it lists.
The agency says Instagram and X account for about half of the posts through which victims are first approached. The share of banner-style advertising has fallen while posts have risen, and Instagram has again been the most common direct-message channel since June.
Social-media romance fraud was flat: 4,005 cases (down 10) and ¥36.65bn in losses (down 2.4%).
| Method | Cases | Change in cases | Losses | Change in losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social-media investment | 7,580 | +1,661 | ¥99.1bn | +27.2% |
| Fake police | 7,334 | -317 | ¥84.28bn | +25.6% |
| Social-media romance | 4,005 | -10 | ¥36.65bn | -2.4% |
| Fictitious billing | 4,718 | +540 | ¥10.79bn | +12.6% |
| Ore-ore (family emergency) | 3,143 | +564 | ¥11.6bn | +16.5% |
| All special fraud | 33,329 | +3,299 | ¥261.0bn | +22.8% |
Fake-police fraud: fewer cases, bigger losses
Fake-police fraud, in which callers pose as police officers and demand money under the pretext of an investigation, was split out from older categories such as "ore-ore" fraud from January 2026 and is now tracked separately. It recorded 7,334 cases, down 317 (4.1%), yet losses rose 25.6% to ¥84.28bn. The average loss per completed case was ¥11.74mn.
Phone remains the opening channel in 7,218 of the cases, more than 90%. Across all special fraud, international numbers make up about 70% of the phone numbers used, the agency says. The agency's enforcement figures show 755 cleared fake-police cases involving 367 people, but the category's enforcement statistics only began this year, so there is no like-for-like comparison.
Read the enforcement numbers with care
Cleared cases across special fraud rose to 6,101 (up 24.0%) and people cleared to 2,193 (up 25.3%). The comparison is not like for like: from 2026 the counts include organised-crime-law offences whose proceeds derive from special fraud, whereas last year's counts for methods other than the two social-media types did not.
The 2026 figures are provisional. Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage