TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a suspected member of fraud ring that is believed to have swindled the same elderly woman out of a total of 25 million yen on two occasions within one week, reports TV Asahi (Oct. 24).
In August, the woman, an 81-year-old resident of Chiyoda Ward, was told on the telephone by a person posing as a police officer that a large sum of money had been left in her residence under suspicious circumstances. The caller then advised that she give custody of the funds to a bank.
Masaki Yamamoto, 22, subsequently arrived at the residence of the woman while posing as an employee from a bank. He received 15 million yen in cash from the victim.
“I was only told to received the package,” Yamamoto was quoted by police in denying the allegations.
Four days before the incident, the woman handed over 10 million yen in cash under similar circumstances. Police are now investigating whether the woman was victimized by the same fraud ring.