Scammer Dupes an Elderly Japanese Woman for $748k worth of Crypto

A crypto scammer swindled a Japanese woman in her 80s out of $748,000 worth tokens. He claimed that her bank account was being attacked.

Kyodo News (via Tokyo Shimbum() said that the woman was contacted “by a person claiming to work for the ward.” [local government] offices.”

According to the news outlet, the victim was described by the Tamagawa station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department as “a woman in her eighties living in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo.”

Officers stated that the woman received a call from her landline in November last year.

The caller claimed to represent a local government officer, and said that the woman was his.

“Your bank account has been used to commit a crime, and your funds will be frozen.”

The caller asked the woman what she should do to protect her money. Officers continued to speak with the woman and then advised her:

“Let’s get our money out before it’s too late.”

According to police, the woman followed the instructions of the caller. She used her smartphone for opening a wallet at a crypto exchange.

The caller then instructed her to create a password and use her bank details for around 97 million Japanese yen ($about $748,000) of an unnamed token.

The caller seemed to have made sure that they knew the password. The woman’s crypto wallet was “disappeared” shortly after the call.

Crypto Fraud is on the Rise – Targeting Older Japanese

The incident was being investigated by police as a special case of fraud.

Japan is seeing an increase in crypto fraud, with more elderly victims being targeted.

In 2018, an 84 year-old woman from Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture handed over $9,000 for a voice phishing fraudmer. She claimed her brother was in crypto-related debts.

In 2021, police praised convenience store workers for their involvement in scams that used crypto-related technology to target elderly victims.