“IT’S ME” “IT’S ME” CRIMINAL SCAMS
KEYWORDS: CRIMINAL LAW, FRAUD, BANK ACCOUNTS

Japan has been hit by a wave of criminal scams that simply puts the proof to the old adage that there’s a fool born every minute. The emphasis should be put on old. They are certainly the bulk of the victims of this new “it’s me, it’s me” scams where the victim receives a call out of the blue from someone claiming to be a relative or old friend who claims they are in big trouble, about to arrested, kidnapped, etc. and they needed a large amount of money transferred immediately. Its amazing how many people, particularly the elderly, who have worked hard all their lives and carefully saved their pennies to only hand over large sums to people they never meet, just based on a strange phone call. Although the Japanese media has been replete with warnings about this practice, it still continues, although with minor transformations. The largest case thus far involved an elderly man who transferred 47 million yen, well over $400,000. These scams were estimated to have cleared over 15 billion yen during 2004. The Japanese government has responded somewhat by making it illegal to transfer or sell bank accounts, a practice which has figured prominently in the scams. The victims transfer funds to the accounts, the perpetrators clean out the money and disappear.

Copyright 2005. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman

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