Japan moves police-bank fraud inquiries online to speed account freezes
From June 1, prefectural police can send special-fraud inquiries to participating banks online via the National Police Agency, replacing at least part of a mail-based process that often let money move from the first destination account into others before a freeze request caught up. Mizuho, MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui, Resona, Seven, Rakuten, AEON, SBI Shinsei and Japan Post Bank are in the initial group. The point is speed, not administrative tidiness. The FSA says earlier inquiries should support earlier freezes of onward-transfer accounts and improve the chances of tracing and recovering victim funds, though the notice does not spell out response-time targets or technical standards.