crime

Woman conned out of Y30 mil by bogus call from man pretending to be her son

35 Comments

Police in Tama City, Tokyo, are looking for two men who conned a 79-year-old woman out of 30 million yen.

According to police, the woman received a call on Sept 10 from a man claiming to be her son. The caller said his bag had been stolen and that it contained his cell phone and a check for a large sum of money that was vital for his work, Fuji TV reported.

The "son" asked his mother to help and said he would send a colleague to pick up the money. The accomplice came to a meeting place near the woman's house on a bike and collected 30 million yen in cash from the woman on two occasions between Sept 10 and 14.

The crime came to light after the woman received a call from her son on Monday.

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35 Comments
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When are the elderly going to learn? This kind of thing happens time and again

1 ( +1 / -0 )

how<> much is 30 mil yen

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

First of all, nowhere in the article did it mention she was senile, suffering from dementia, or mentally incapacitated. People are just making assumptions based on her age. My grandmother is 88 years old and she always gives me the third degree when I call her and just say "Its me".

Secondly, if she were suffering from some mental deficiency, she should not have full control of that kind of money. I'm sorry that I sound so callous, but the reality is, this scam is not new, not original, and not clever enough to be fallin for in this day and age.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

A daily phone call to see if any elderly relatives are OK doesn't take up much time. Why don't people do this?

Many older folk hate to be reminded of their frailty. Mr. cleo phones/visits his old mum as often as he can without her getting upset - Why are you here? Are you checking up on me? I don't need checking up on! She even objects to people wishing her odaijini when she has a cold - I know how to look after myself! You needn't worry about me!

And when we phone (a couple of times a week at least) we have to say who we are - her hearing is no longer good enough for her to be able to recognise voices. Not being able to sus who you're talking to isn't necessarily a sign that families aren't in contact with each other.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Those who think it's OK to rip off the old, vulnerable and sick are absolute scum. These sort of crimes should mean the harshest penalties.

The saddest thing about these crimes is that the children of the victims obviously choose to have little contact with their parents, one of the reasons why the victims don't sus it isn't their darling off-spring. They are probably just pleased to hear from them and be able to help.

A daily phone call to see if any elderly relatives are OK doesn't take up much time. Why don't people do this?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

bajhista65Sep. 24, 2015 - 10:31PM JST

All that is already being done. Stickers all over ATMs, tellers are required to inform about scammers and ask if you're sure you're not being scammed, tv infomercials, public announcements from those obnoxious speaker cars, leaflets given out at stations, police trotting around telling people, they do everything! If people still bite on this kind of thing, there's simply no hope. If someone loses track of their "mental facilities" there are procedures to make sure they don't wire away all their belongings.

wtfjapanSep. 24, 2015 - 11:00PM JST How do they know she has 30 million yen in the bank? How do they know she even has a son, where he works, how old he is, and so on?* yeah there seems to be a fair bit of inside bank information being sold to these scammers.

They don't need inside info, they cold call thousands of people and most old people have a kid, a lot of them also have a bit of money. 3000man isn't an unusual amount

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How do they know she has 30 million yen in the bank? How do they know she even has a son, where he works, how old he is, and so on?* yeah there seems to be a fair bit of inside bank information being sold to these scammers.
-2 ( +0 / -2 )

This kind of scam and conning will never stop if the media, police, and JGov will not help the poor senior citizens (excuse me) who are still living the old school ways in these age of high technologies. The Police, instead of just hanging inside theor post and boxes, let them make rounds in their district orienting people about this. JGov, command your city halls and mayors to spend some tax payers money by making flyers and posters placed on easy visibility like Grocereis, kombini etc... . NHK and other can do a lot of help since they collect money from TV owners and advertising companies. It won't take lot's of money or effort to post every now and then on TV Broadcasting Networks about this kind of scams and conning. How ? TV Networks are experts on advertising. All probable victims need is just reminders about phone scammers like this. These people are really prone becuz they are old and still the typical japanese living in the old culture. IMHO.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

ompletely. But that's one heck of an angry post by your standards. Something else bothering you? : )

Not at all - I'm on vacation! I guess I just had a sarcastic moment.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Many elderly people, unfortunately, cannot think straight. and some people, unfortunately are scumbags.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Strangerland

Agree completely. But that's one heck of an angry post by your standards. Something else bothering you? : )

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Oh I agree. The old person is 100% at fault for not maintaining their mental facilities 100%, and for being so stupid as to get conned by someone who does this as a job. As an old person who has never had it happen before, they should be 100% on top of their game, they should not be getting scammed by pros. No excuses. No sympathy. As victims, they are 100% at fault. You are correct.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

@Strangerland

It takes two seconds to make a call to her son and find out if it was him who called. There's simply no excuse for it...its too common, and has been happening too long to not know.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

No sympathy for this anymore. This is so elementary it can hardly be called a con, simply no excuse for falling for it.

Yeah, old people are at fault for not maintaining their mental faculties at 100% until the minute they die. It's their fault for getting scammed. They deserve it.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

No sympathy for this anymore. This is so elementary it can hardly be called a con, simply no excuse for falling for it.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Crooks, including violent offenders, typically go after the low-hanging fruit. Scumbags

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It's really no surprise this kind of robbery is so popular because it seems so easy.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

It takes a real scumbag--- a real feculent piece of contemptible, subhuman refuse to want to exploit the sick and elderly.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

People fall for the ore ore con because they are suffering from dementia. Dementia is not an on/off proposition. It comes and goes, and gets worse as it progresses.

For most people, the thought that they are losing is it terrifying, and therefore they do not admit it to themselves. For some, the shame and terror goes so far to force the dementia sufferer to continue to deny it, even though objectively they've done something really foolish, like sign over their house, hand over a pile of money, etc.

So, please try to understand, this woman was not stupid. She is sick. And a victim.

These ore ore gangsters prey on the sick, the wounded, and the weak. They are scum, and should be sent away for a very long time.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Well, to put a positive spin on this, at least we're only hearing about isolated incidents now. A few years back, this was an epidemic, and we would only hear about how many cases of the "ore-ore" scam on the news.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

WOW the mom didn't think to call her son before meeting the person and handing over the money and she waited to contact her son to see what was going on between Sept 10 and 14 to find out the outcome of his situation

0 ( +3 / -3 )

BrainiacSEP. 23, 2015 - 11:24AM JST I don't understand how these scum know about their intended victims' finances. How do they know she has 30 million yen in the bank? How do they know she even has a son, where he works, how old he is, and so on?

Last year I had a documents send by courier from overseas under my name ( foreign name ) , they courier at Narita handed the documents for delivery to a famous Japans Takyubin who put my wife name on it instead of my name .... how do they know my wife's name ...!!!! ( only god knows )

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Sorry but no sympathy from me. How long has this con been going on? A decade? If you are still falling for the ol' "ore ore" scam, after all of the PSAs, media attention, and warnings, then you're one big ignorant sucker.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

10 million people over 80. Dementia can come before 80. Rich pickings.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

she doesn't know her own son?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@brainiac They don't. They just keep trying different numbers until they hit a target. If the receiver doesn't have a son they will just hang up. They don't mention any company names either, just that they need the money for work

7 ( +7 / -0 )

While I keep hearing about how easy it is to be a 'kaigai' robbery victim.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Why do people still fall for this "Ore, ore" con?

@sensei258 Senility. Note the age: 79. My grandmother-in-law is constantly coming into the living room to ask if its night or day. When told which, she doubts and argues before going back to her room to watch more TV. She has to be told to stop eating because if she wasn't, she would keep thinking its dinner time and kill herself by eating too much. She is not even half in this world anymore. A complete idiot could bilk her with a poorer thought out scheme than this.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I don't understand how these scum know about their intended victims' finances. How do they know she has 30 million yen in the bank? How do they know she even has a son, where he works, how old he is, and so on?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Why do people still fall for this "Ore, ore" con? The banks in our town all have posters warning people plastered all over their ATM areas.

Because they are older, and it's been shown that older people are more trusting. And while they are on the receiving end of the scam only that one time, the cons are on the active side of it all the time. They know the right things to say, and how to push the conversation to make it work.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

It is unbelievable how this con is always exactly the same, yet people fall for it. I discussed with my senior students that they should have a code word or question established with their children, and that if it was truly their child, this kind of check would never be questioned. I want to think they wouldn't fall for it, but one of my students did fall for it a few years back. Fortunately, the second time she made a large withdrawl, the bank teller caught it and informed her it was a con.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Stupid ... how people does not recognise the voice of their children , and how they did not confirm their request by return call.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why do people still fall for this "Ore, ore" con? The banks in our town all have posters warning people plastered all over their ATM areas.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

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