Croquette, Special Crime Prevention Support Officer, Conducts Public Awareness Campaign at Metropolitan Police Department Shibuya Police Station's Special Fraud Prevention Event

The "Stop Ore-Ore Sagi 47 ~ Family Bonds Operation ~" project team (abbreviation: SOS47) has been conducting countermeasures and public awareness activities nationwide since 2018, in cooperation with police departments in all 47 prefectures, to clearly convey knowledge and prevention measures regarding special fraud, which is rampant across the country, and to prevent damage. This time, Croquette, Special Crime Prevention Support Officer of the National Police Agency, participated as a special guest in a special fraud prevention event hosted by the Metropolitan Police Department Shibuya Police Station and conducted public awareness activities. ■ Special Support Officer Croquette: "Be especially careful of international calls with a '+' sign at the beginning." At the beginning of the event, Special Support Officer Croquette spoke about the recent situation of special fraud, saying, "The methods of special fraud are becoming more sophisticated year by year, and the amount of damage is also increasing." He continued, "Until now, special fraud often targeted the elderly, but recently, damage to younger generations through SNS is also increasing. Criminals rush people by saying things like, 'Your account is suspected of being used for money laundering. The police are coming to arrest you now.'" He also explained the methods. He further warned, "International calls are often used in special fraud. Please be especially careful of international calls with a '+' sign at the beginning of the phone number." ■ Special Support Officer Croquette: "For mobile phones, take measures with National Police Agency recommended apps and DigiPolice." Towards the end of the event, as a countermeasure against international calls received on mobile phones, he mentioned the Metropolitan Police Department's crime prevention app "DigiPolice" and its international call blocking system, as well as National Police Agency recommended apps. He said, "If you install DigiPolice and set up international call rejection, you can block fraudulent calls from overseas. Also, there are other special fraud prevention apps recommended by the National Police Agency that can block calls in the same way, so I encourage everyone to download and utilize these apps." At the end of the event, he appealed to the attendees, saying, "There is a country called Japan that values human connections. But within Japan, there are many bad people who take advantage of that kindness. Everyone, please be truly careful and doubt what needs to be doubted, and let's be wary of fraud." 【Event Outline】 ■ Event Name: Metropolitan Police Department Shibuya Police Station Special Fraud Prevention Event ■ Date: Friday, April 24, Reiwa 8 ■ Venue: Shibuya Station East Exit Underground Plaza ■ Attendees: Croquette, Special Crime Prevention Support Officer, National Police Agency