Tobira Systems Report on Fraud Calls and Phishing Scams (February 2026)
Tobira Systems publishes its fraud call and phishing scam report for February 2026
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- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 00:33
Tobira Systems Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nagoya, Aichi; Representative Director & President: Atsushi Akeda; Stock Code: 4441; hereinafter "Tobira Systems"), a provider of countermeasure services against fraud calls and phishing scams, is releasing its proprietary research report on fraudulent phone calls and SMS messages confirmed through the company's investigations in February 2026. (Survey period: February 1–28, 2026)
The report also shares trends identified in the company's most recent investigations.
<Research Summary>
◉ International phone numbers declined sharply among nuisance calls; mobile and 050 numbers increased
◉ Fake police scams surged via international numbers "+1" and "+875"; some cases originated from calls impersonating service providers
◉ In February, SMS impersonating the "National Tax Agency" surged, likely exploiting tax filing season
◉ Fraudulent wire transfer losses at corporations reached ¥4.7 billion — four times the previous year; three schemes targeting businesses to watch out for in the new fiscal year
1. Fraud Call Report
○ International numbers declined sharply among nuisance calls; mobile and 050 numbers increased
Among the numbers newly registered in Tobira Systems' nuisance call database in February 2026, international phone numbers accounted for 44.9% (down 22.3 percentage points month-on-month), a significant decrease from the previous month. Meanwhile, mobile numbers rose to 24.0% (+7.9 pp), 050 IP phone numbers to 14.6% (+8.3 pp), and landline numbers to 9.1% (+2.4 pp) — all increasing from the prior month.
○ Fake police scams surged; some cases originated from calls impersonating service providers
According to the company's research, the most frequently received international country codes in February 2026 were, in order: North America including the United States and Canada, the Global Mobile Satellite System (GMSS) (Note 1), maritime mobile service reservations (Note 2), Russia/Kazakhstan, and the United Kingdom.
"Fake police scams" — in which callers impersonate police officers and other officials to extort money under the guise of an investigation — continued to show a high volume of calls from number ranges beginning with "+1" and "+875", as in the previous month. It was also found that many fake police scam calls begin with an automated voice message such as "Your mobile phone will be suspended in two hours" or "Your card has been used fraudulently," and that these country code ranges also see a large number of calls impersonating telecommunications carriers and credit card companies.
(Note 1) A system that enables communication via communication satellites from mobile radio stations installed in automobiles, vessels, aircraft, and other vehicles, as well as from satellite mobile phone terminals.
(Note 2) Numbers allocated under ITU Recommendation E.164 on international telephone numbering plans...