‘Dark Part-Time Job’ Fraud Suspect Identified via New Undercover Investigative Technique

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:01 JST, June 9, 2025

A fraud suspect was identified after an investigator disguised his identity and applied for a “dark part-time job” under a false name, the Metropolitan Police Department announced Monday. This marks the country’s first success application of a new investigative technique called a “disguised identity investigation,” according to the police.

A senior Metropolitan Police Department official said an officer applied for a job posted on a social media seeking a fraud perpetrator using a pseudonym and a fake ID in May. A suspect was identified in the metropolitan area, the official said.

This new method where investigators was introduced in December as an emergency response to a surge in special fraud cases, in which the perpetrator pretends to be a relative or a public institution employee via means as telephone calls in order to swindle money from victims.