flash on Nostr: ⚡️🇯🇵 NEW - In Japan, a woman lost the equivalent of more than $500,000 in ...

⚡️🇯🇵 NEW - In Japan, a woman lost the equivalent of more than $500,000 in cryptocurrency after fake police officers asked her to transfer her funds to… “prove her innocence.”

The scam was reportedly orchestrated from a call center in Cambodia. The scammers posed first as police officers and then as prosecutors, claiming that the victim’s credit card had been found in connection with a massive money-laundering case.

Under threat of arrest, she reportedly ended up transferring 81 million yen in cryptocurrency, or approximately $515,000.

Two alleged members of the network—a 38-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman—have just been arrested by Tokyo police. Investigators suspect them of participating in scams totaling approximately 240 million yen, or nearly $1.5 million in cryptocurrency.

The group operated out of Cambodia, and its alleged leader is believed to be a Chinese national.