{"slug": "osaka-police-introduce-ai-police-chief-to-combat-scams", "title": "Osaka police introduce AI police chief to combat scams", "summary": "Osaka Prefectural Police in Japan have introduced an AI virtual police chief named AIko to raise awareness about fraud schemes, particularly among younger generations. The character delivers crime prevention advice via YouTube, using real scam examples to educate the public. Nearly half of fraud victims in Osaka last year were aged 64 or younger, prompting the use of modern technology to combat scams.", "body_md": "# Osaka police introduce AI police chief to combat scams\n\nPolice in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, have introduced a virtual AI police chief to help raise public awareness of increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes, particularly among younger generations, [Qazinform News Agency](https://qazinform.com/) reports, citing [Kyodo](https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/78782).\n\nThe virtual character, named AIko — a combination of \"AI\" and the common Japanese female name suffix \"ko\" — appears as a young woman and delivers crime prevention advice through the Osaka Prefectural Police's YouTube channel.\n\nAccording to police, fraudsters have increasingly targeted victims by posing as police officers, celebrities promoting investment opportunities or even romantic partners. While older people remain frequent targets, scams are also affecting people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and early 60s.\n\nAIko made her first appearance in a video released in late May, using real-life examples of online conversations between scammers and victims to explain common fraud tactics.\n\nIn one of the videos, she reminds viewers that legitimate police officers do not display their identification cards or arrest warrants online.\n\nPreliminary police data show that nearly half of all fraud victims in Osaka Prefecture last year were aged 64 or younger.\n\nToshinori Hirano, a visiting professor at the Cyber Security Center of Kagawa University who has long cooperated with Osaka police and helped develop the virtual character, said the initiative aims to strengthen public awareness of fraud prevention through the use of modern technology.\n\nEarlier, it was reported that [Meta unveiled a new line of AI-powered smart glasses developed in partnership with EssilorLuxottica.](https://qazinform.com/news/meta-launches-new-ai-powered-smart-glasses-starting-at-299-cea12e)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/osaka-police-introduce-ai-police-chief-to-combat-scams", "canonical_source": "https://qazinform.com/news/osaka-police-introduce-ai-police-chief-to-combat-scams-1999f7", "published_at": "2026-06-27 19:14:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-27 22:41:41.209183+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-safety", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Osaka Prefectural Police", "AIko", "Kagawa University", "Toshinori Hirano", "Kyodo", "Qazinform News Agency"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/osaka-police-introduce-ai-police-chief-to-combat-scams", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/osaka-police-introduce-ai-police-chief-to-combat-scams.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/osaka-police-introduce-ai-police-chief-to-combat-scams.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/osaka-police-introduce-ai-police-chief-to-combat-scams.jsonld"}}