Overview
- The National Police Agency on Dec. 11 began a system to screen and endorse private smartphone apps that protect users from special-fraud calls.
- To qualify, apps must apply NPA-provided fraud-number data, block or warn on international calls, and deliver agency crime-prevention alerts.
- Endorsed apps must be free with no paid features, and the NPA will list them on its website along with usage figures and prevention results for a one-year term that can be extended.
- Police cite record losses of about ¥109.7 billion for January–October 2025, with roughly 40% of scam calls reaching mobile phones and 76% of misused numbers carrying international country codes.
- The agency started accepting developer applications, expects to name recommended apps as early as this fiscal year, permits use of its emblem by endorsed apps, and notes iOS cannot blanket-block all international numbers.