Not long ago, while I was out posting a letter, a salesman phoned and told my wife that we had been tabbed to receive a new water filter for our kitchen faucet, absolutely free of charge.

"He's coming over right away to install it. What do you think?" she asked. "It's got to be a scam," I told her.

My wife's Japanese is good enough to pass for a native. Fortunately she gave the salesman a foreign sounding name (mine) and that put him on his guard. A short while later, he phoned back. When I answered, it confirmed he was dealing with a gaikokujin. The offer was promptly rescinded.