Spate of phone scams by people pretending to be police officers

Telephone scams have been all the rage over the past few years, but local police have reported a spate of attempts in rural Hiroshima in recent days. What appears to be one organized group of con merchants have come up with a new, if not particularly imaginative, twist on the phone scam.

Callers pretending to be police officers have been calling people and “reporting” that bank account books with their names on them have be discovered following the arrest of a crime group member. The caller then proceeds to ask for the would-be victim’s bank account number and ATM PIN number, saying that they are necessary to take steps to protect the money deposited in the bank account.