TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police last week arrested a man for allegedly attempting to defraud an elderly woman out of 1 million yen in a scam carried out on the telephone, reports TBS News (Sept. 17).
On September 15, Ryoya Akimoto, a 20-year-old demolition employee, allegedly worked with associates in calling the 85-year-old woman, a resident of Toshima Ward, and attempted to deceive her by pretending to be her grandson.
“There’s a friend I trust having trouble with money, so I want you to lend him some money,” the woman was told by the suspects.
The woman was defrauded out of 5 million yen through the same scam earlier the same day, police said, and grew suspicious and alerted authorities after receiving a another phone call.
Akimoto was apprehended when he came to collect the cash, police said.
