Con men posing as tax officials post record for swindling elderly

People claiming to be government tax office officials and calling victims to offer refunds received a total of 2.45 billion yen from January to November 2007, police said.  

During that time, 2,158 fraudulent cash transfers via automated teller machines were recorded.

The total amount netted by the scammers was up sevenfold from the corresponding period the previous year and the number of cases rose by about 650 percent.

The majority of victims were age  60 or over.

The NPA believes the scammers have preyed on the elderly because of their  unfamiliarity with ATMs.

The fake officials give false "refund" information such as "code" numbers, to dupe the elderly victim into actually entering an amount and account number at the ATM. The money is then transferred into the swindler's account.

What can be lower than stealing from the elderly? 

Full Story: