Virtual AI police chief introduced in Osaka amid rising imposter scams
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Police hope that “AIko” will raise public awareness with the increasing number of scammers posing as police officers, investment-promoting celebrities or romantic partners.
PHOTO: AFP
A virtual AI police chief has been introduced in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, following a rise in imposter scams, with local police hoping that “AIko” will raise public awareness of such fraud, especially among younger people.
AIko, whose name combines “AI” and “ko,” the Japanese suffix attached to female names, has the voice and appearance of a young woman. She is warning through the prefectural police’s YouTube channel about scams spreading among not only the senior population, but also people in their 20s to the 60s.
Victims have been swindled out of money by scammers posing as police officers, investment-promoting celebrities or romantic partners, said the police.
AIko made her debut in a clip released in May, showing actual examples of scam tactics and online exchanges between scammers and victims.
“No police officers show their IDs and arrest warrants online,” she said in the video titled “Chief AIko’s crime prevention class.”
People aged 64 or younger accounted for nearly half of the victims of such scams in the prefecture in 2025, according to preliminary data released by the police. KYODO NEWS