(Mainichi Japan) OSAKA (Kyodo) -- 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 generations.
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 elderly population, but also people in their 20s to 60s.
Victims have been swindled out of money by scammers posing as police officers, investment-promoting celebrities or romantic partners, for example, according to the police.
AIko made her debut in a clip released in late 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 dubbed "Chief AIko's crime prevention class."
People aged 64 or younger accounted for nearly half of the victims of such scams in the prefecture last year, according to preliminary data released by the police.
Toshinori Hirano, a visiting professor at the Kagawa University Cyber Security Center who had been assisting the police long before he created AIko, said he hopes to "heighten crime prevention awareness by utilizing technology."