A Tokyo woman in her 80s fell victim to a scam involving a phone call from a fake family member in distress and was bilked of gold bullion worth about30 million yen ($261,000) and 600,000 yen in cash, according to police.<\/p>\n
The woman, who lives in Minato Ward, received a call from a man who identified himself as her son around 11 p.m. on Jan. 7, according to Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department.<\/p>\n
The man knew her sons name and profession, police said on Jan. 12, quoting the woman.<\/p>\n
I cannot withdraw money because I have lost a bag containing a 'hanko' seal and other items, the caller was quoted as saying. Could you lend me some money?<\/p>\n
She believed the caller and mentioned that she keeps gold bullion at her home.<\/p>\n
About an hour and half later, a young man showed up at her door, saying he was from the office her son works at.<\/p>\n
She gave the young man the bullion and cash for him as she was instructed by the caller whom she had on the line.<\/p>\n
But when she called her real son about an hour later, she realized it was a fraud and that the 4 kilograms of bullion and cash were actually stolen.<\/p>\n
Police urged residents to hang up the phone immediately when an individual who claims to be a relative calls asking for money and then call the number of that relative to confirm the identity of the caller.<\/p>\n
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Elderly Tokyo woman robbed of 30 million yen in gold in scam | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis - Asahi Shimbun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Tokyo woman in her 80s fell victim to a scam involving a phone call from a fake family member in distress and was bilked of gold bullion worth about30 million yen ($261,000) and 600,000 yen in cash, according to police. The woman, who lives in Minato Ward, received a call from a man who identified himself as her son around 11 p.m. on Jan. Continue reading