Fraudster confesses to stealing over Y32 million by posing as victim's son
TOKYO —
Police in Tokyo said Tuesday they have arrested a man who posed as an elderly woman’s son in order to steal over 32 million yen.
The 23-year-old man, who has been named as Ryunosuke Fukuda, was initially arrested for a separate incident of fraud, and confessed to the crime while in police custody, TBS reported.
According to police, Fukuda allegedly telephoned the victim, telling her that the president of his company had made an accounting mistake and that he wanted her to immediately withdraw cash from her bank account to help him balance the books.
He also claimed to be too busy to collect the cash himself and told her that he would send a coworker to pick it up from her. As a result, Fukuda is believed to have received 32.8 million yen from the woman.
Police say they are currently investigating the possibility that Fukuda was involved in other scams that have yet to come to light, TBS reported.
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21 Comments
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1
AmericanForeigner
How would that possibly work?
2
gaijinfo
This is absolutely ridiculous.
10
Nicky Washida
The thing I always find amazing in these stories is that the victim really does believe it is his or her son! So how crap must the son be at visiting his parents that they dont even recognise his voice? And if my kids visited me so rarely that I didnt even know who they were anymore they could whistle if they came begging for money!
It happened to a friends mother - she got a phone call from a guy pretending to be her son and he said he had been arrested and needed money to get out of jail. He came on the phone crying and saying "Oka-a-asannnn!" She said "You crapped up, you are on your own buddy!" - they hung up straight away!
4
Elbuda Mexicano
As the saying goes, there is a sucker born every minute! Who in their right mind would even fall for this kind of BS??
3
MaboDofuIsSpicy
Maybe that money was a drop in the bucket for her.
2
Yubaru
Sad;y Japanese grandma's.
2
Laguna
Good one, Nicky - and more parents should do the same. When I was in HS in the '80s, my single mother put me on her credit card so that I could take care of myself - with the understanding that I would be responsible for all charges. Of course, I soon ended up about $1,200 in the hole, a large sum for a HS student. When I approached my mom for help, she answered with a slightly more sympathetic version of the above.
That was the last time I was ever in debt (aside from my student loans). Needless to say, my children both "enjoy" the same independence.
0
AmericanForeigner
Japanese preying on other Japanese, what happened to Kizuna?
4
FightingViking
One of the versions I've heard : The granny said "Sure ! Come and get it !" and when the son arrived, he found a bunch of cops waiting for him...
-3
Sarcasm321
File under: Only in Japan....
1
electric2004
It should not come as a big surprise as not only the children are calling their parents "Okaasan" and "Otoosan", but also the parents are calling themselves "Papa" and "Mama" or "Okaasan" and "Otoosan".
Might make sense when talking face to face, but does not make so much sense, when the identity of the other person needs to be confirmed. Like on the phone. Or children searching for their parents for example in a shopping mall.
-5
AmericanForeigner
I really can't imagine this happening anywhere else in the world because people have their wits about them. Something needs to be done about this, where is the government intervention?
0
Yokota
@Elbuda Mexicano "As the saying goes, there is a sucker born every minute! Who in their right mind would even fall for this kind of BS??"
made in Japan...
6
zichi
Have you forgotten about Bernie Madoff, who took people for billions of dollars?
-1
ambrosia
"The thing I always find amazing in these stories is that the victim really does believe it is his or her son!"
So true! I don't even live on the same continent as my siblings and I know it's them when they call. I may get my brothers mixed up with each other and my sisters mixed up with each other seeing as how they sound similar and share speech patterns, having been raised together. Still, I at least know when one of my brothers or sisters is talking to me and that they're not my friends, husband or random strangers. Very odd indeed.
At the end of the day, most fraud, be it investment fraud, ore-ore fraud or what have you, is based on appealing to the "victim's" greed, dishonesty and or willingness to avoid trouble or embarrassment through what they know is dishonest, unlawful or immoral behavior. I'm not saying that's true for all fraud but I do think it's the reason behind most fraud where the victims are not senile or mentally disabled. But then again, is being extremely stupid and naive considered a mental disability?
0
ambrosia
AmericanForeigner: First, the government has tried to do something about this. There have been public service announcements cautioning people and there are signs on all ATMs telling people to be mindful of this kind of thing as well as buttons you can push if you're being coerced into give someone your money. On top of that, there are limits as to how much you can withdraw in a certain time period to avoid people giving all of their money away to some fraudster. Second, this happens everywhere in one form or the other. I can't seriously believe that you think Japan is the only place where fraud occurs. Have a think! Why would there be an English word for it if it didn't exist in the English speaking world?
3
Fadamor
No. This happens worldwide. If it didn't happen worldwide we wouldn't still be getting those phishing emails trying to get us to cough-up our account details. SOMEBODY must still be falling for those or they would give up and try something else.
2
Sarcasm321
Nope, I still don't know many other countries where a guy can call an old person claiming to be a relative, and then have millions of Yen transfered to his account. At least not to the extent they have to make public service announcements about "learn to recognize the sound of your own children's voice"! lol
0
Yubaru
Let's not forget who make the comment about "only in Japan", keep that in mind and the rest falls into place.
1
Nicky Washida
Tee hee! Nice one Granny!
4
zichi
Even criminals must know that at yearend 2011, ¥84 trillion was left un-deposited, up 2% from the previous year. This cash-in-hand is kept at home by individuals, like a recent politician with ¥600 million and also business which keeps cash for emergencies, like a sudden bribe demand, maybe?
The mother could not have withdrawn ¥32 million from an ATM or even a single withdraw from a bank without being questioned.
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