A novel type of fraud has been reported in Osaka Prefecture, in which scammers send elderly people smartphones before swindling them using the devices, it was learned Friday.
In such a scam, elderly individuals start using the smartphones sent to them as instructed by scammers. Victims are swindled via social media and video call services and cryptocurrency apps that become available to them through the devices.
According to the special fraud investigation division of the Osaka Prefectural Police, a man posing as a police officer called a woman in her 70s who lives in the prefecture in July, claiming that she was a suspect in a fraud case. During the call, he asked her to buy a smartphone later.
As the woman did not follow the man's instructions for a while, a smartphone was delivered to her mailbox.
After receiving the device, the woman began to communicate with the man via social media and was told to withdraw cash and buy gold. This resulted in her losing ¥5 million ($33,900) and 1.5 kilograms of gold, valued at about ¥26 million.
Other victims bought smartphones as instructed.
In June, a woman in her 60s who lives in the prefecture received a call from a man claiming to be a police officer. He asked her to make a video call and instructed her to buy a smartphone.
The victim was deceived into buying crypto assets worth around ¥60 million in multiple transactions via a smartphone app. She was later defrauded of the assets.
The police division has issued a warning to the public saying that police officers do not instruct individuals to buy smartphones or ask them to use social media.
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