Is this letter a scam? The patterns to know
Scammers in Japan imitate exactly the letters foreigners fear most: tax, courts, unpaid fees. The fakes follow patterns — learn five rules and you're safe.
What real authorities never do
- Demand payment by gift card, electronic money or wire "today"
- Threaten arrest or deportation by letter or SMS
- Ask you to click a link to "confirm" card numbers or your residence card
- Call the final notice your first contact — real billing starts gentle and escalates on paper
Common fakes
| "未納料金" postcard / SMS | Claims unpaid site or phone fees, threatens court "today". Hallmark: a phone number to call urgently. Ignore it. |
|---|---|
| Fake courthouse postcard | "訴訟最終通告" — real courts serve lawsuits by special registered mail (特別送達), never by postcard. |
| Fake tax office | Real 税務署/国税庁 letters never contain QR codes for instant personal payment to private accounts. |
| Delivery SMS | "Your package couldn't be delivered, click here." Real missed deliveries leave a paper slip. |
The five-second checks
- Does it demand an unusual payment method? → scam
- Is the deadline "immediately"? Real bills give weeks → suspicious
- Is there a real sender address and counter you could visit? Fakes avoid physical locations
- Search the phone number — scam numbers are usually already reported
- Still unsure? Call the organization via its official website number, never the number on the letter
If you already paid a scammer: call the police consultation line #9110, and your bank immediately — fast reporting sometimes freezes transfers.
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Photograph it and Kakete tells you the amount, the deadline and exactly what to do — in your language, free.
Scan your letter →