|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
Want to support Global Action on Aging? Click below: Thanks!
|
 |
Japan - Police are on the hunt for a group of about 10 people who are duping
elderly people out of millions of yen by pretending to be relatives, and
then telling them they have caused accidents they need to pay for. Metropolitan
Police Department officials said about 150 people appear to have fallen
victim to the scam, and they are working to track down members of the
group to stop further incidents from occurring. Investigators
said the group is based in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, and has several
people who make the phone calls and several others who withdraw the money
that the elderly people have handed over. Members
first pick the home of an elderly person at random from a telephone book,
then call them, saying, "It's me." When
the elderly person mentions the name of a son or grandchild, the caller
pretends to be that person and convinces the elderly person that he or she
has caused an accident and needs to deposit money into a certain account
to pay for it. Most
of the accounts used in the scam are set up under fictitious names, not
just within the Metropolitan area, but also in financial institutions in
the Kansai area. Members of the group had traveled all the way to the
region to set up the accounts, and police said this had probably been done
deliberately to hinder police investigations. In
most cases, the callers used prepaid cell phones to hide their identities.
Once the elderly people had deposited money into an account, group members
would have the elderly people let them know, and immediately afterwards a
member would withdraw the cash from a convenience store automatic teller
machine. One 79-year-old man who fell victim to the ruse deposited 1.3 million yen
into a designated account. A person pretending to be an accident victim
then told him that the deposit was 1 million yen short, so the Tokyo man
cancelled a fixed deposit so he could pay the money. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
