Overseas Chinese in Japan warned on phone scams demanding bank transfers
- The scammers often pretend to be from the Chinese embassy, and tell the recipients of the calls that their residency status is in danger of being revoked
- In one case in October, a woman in the city of Kumagaya was tricked into transferring US$349,387 to the fraudsters
Authorities in the Kanto region, which encompasses Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, are investigating automated calls in perfect Mandarin Chinese from people who claim to be from the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. The recipients of the calls are instructed to call another phone number for further instructions.
In these subsequent conversations, the recipients are being told one of a number of stories and demanding that a bank transfer be made to solve the problem.
In some cases, people are being told that their Japan residency status is in danger of being revoked if the payment is not made immediately. Others are being informed that their passport has been stolen and is being used illegally by someone else, or that their bank details have been obtained and are being used in fraudulent transactions.
Victims are also being asked to provide their full name, date of birth and bank details.
The first cases were reported in March of last year but have been increasing in recent months, police told the Mainichi newspaper.
One woman told the newspaper that she only realised that it was a scam when she suggested that she should contact the police and the woman on the other end of the line hung up.
