Hundreds of phone calls appearing to come from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department have been reported across Japan. They are suspected to be part of scams and other criminal activities.



Tokyo police say they have been receiving inquiries since around Tuesday about calls in which the caller ID displays the Shinjuku Police Station's main number.



The station says it received at least 550 inquiries over four days, including more than 100 on Friday alone. The calls have been confirmed in at least 40 prefectures, mostly to mobile phones.



Scam groups have been using numbers ending in 0110 to impersonate police for some time. But in most cases, the caller ID included a plus sign and a country code, making it easier to identify the calls as fraudulent.



The latest calls lack these signs. Police say they do not know how the IDs are being faked or where the calls are originating from.



They say the callers claim to be police officers and try to stir up anxiety by saying the recipient's bank accounts and mobile phones are being used for criminal activities.



Crimes involving scammers posing as police officers have been surging recently.



The Shinjuku Police Station is urging people not to trust caller ID alone. It is advising people to stay calm and confirm the caller's name, department and extension number.



It says recipients should then hang up and consult with family members, acquaintances or the local police station.