A 65-year-old man in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, was defrauded by a fake police officer and lost all 826 million yen in cryptocurrency.

A 65-year-old man from Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan was defrauded by a fake police officer and lost all 826 million yen. (Bloomberg)

Don’t be fooled by fake police officers and fake prosecutors! A 65-year-old man in Ashiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, received a call from a fraud group pretending to be a police officer, and immediately followed the other party's instructions, resulting in the cryptocurrency with a market value of 826 million yen (approximately NT$168 million) being defrauded.

According to Kyodo News, the Ashiya Police Station stated today (30th) that the victim received a call from someone claiming to be an Aichi Prefecture police officer on the 5th of this month, pointing out that 19 people were transferring money to his bank account, and that someone was preparing to file a lawsuit. The assets in his name must be transferred to be protected.

The victim had no doubt that he was involved, and exchanged deposits and stocks for virtual assets and transferred them to a cryptocurrency wallet opened in his own name. However, the cryptocurrency was later transferred to the fake police account, resulting in a total loss of 826 million yen.