Tobira Systems Report on Special Fraud and Phishing Scams (February 2026)
Tobira Systems' February 2026 report indicates a shift in nuisance calls from international to domestic mobile and 050 numbers. Fake police scams using '+1' and '+875' numbers were prevalent. A surge in SMS phishing impersonating the National Tax Agency was observed, coinciding with the tax filing season. Fraudulent remittance damages to corporations quadrupled year-over-year to 4.7 billion yen, with three common tactics targeting businesses highlighted.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 05:11
Tobira Systems, Inc. (Headquarters: Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture; President: Atsushi Aketa; Securities Code: 4441), a provider of services to combat special fraud and phishing scams, is releasing its independent investigation report on fraudulent calls and SMS messages confirmed during February 2026 (Survey period: February 1 to February 28, 2026).
We will also report on recent trends identified in our latest investigation.
＜Survey Summary＞
◉ Nuisance calls from international numbers decreased significantly, while calls from mobile and 050 numbers increased.
◉ Frequent fake police scams from international numbers starting with "+1" and "+875", sometimes initiated by calls impersonating businesses.
◉ A surge in SMS messages impersonating the "National Tax Agency" in February, likely taking advantage of the tax filing season.
◉ Corporate losses from fraudulent remittances reached 4.7 billion yen, a four-fold increase from the previous year; three examples of tactics targeting companies to be wary of in the new fiscal year.
1. Fraudulent Call Report
○ Nuisance calls from international numbers decreased significantly, while mobile and 050 numbers increased
In February 2026, the proportion of number types newly registered in Tobira Systems' nuisance phone number database showed that international numbers accounted for 44.9% (a 22.3% decrease from the previous month), a significant drop. Meanwhile, mobile phones accounted for 24.0% (+7.9% from the previous month), 050 IP phones for 14.6% (+8.3%), and landlines for 9.1% (+2.4%), all showing an increase from the prior month.
○ Frequent fake police scams, some originating from calls impersonating businesses
According to our investigation, the country codes with the highest number of incoming international calls in February 2026 were, in descending order: North American regions such as the United States and Canada, the Global Mobile Satellite System (GMSS) (Note 1), reservations by maritime mobile service (Note 2), Russia/Kazakhstan, and the United Kingdom.
"Fake police scams," where perpetrators impersonate police officers to defraud money under the guise of an investigation, continued to be frequently confirmed from numbers starting with "+1" and "+875" since last month. In many of these fake police scams, an automated voice message such as "Your mobile phone will be suspended in 2 hours" or "Your card has been used fraudulently" is played first. This indicates that many calls from these country codes also impersonate telecommunication carriers or credit card companies.
(Note 1) A system that facilitates communication via communication satellites from radio stations installed on mobile units like cars, ships, and aircraft, or from satellite mobile phone terminals.
(Note 2) Allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in its Recommendation E.164 for telephone numbering plans...