Young scam artists are increasingly preying on elderly people by pretending over the phone to be their offspring or grandchildren and claiming they are in urgent need of cash, the National Police Agency reported Thursday.
Between January and October, police either probed or were told about 3,807 cases, including failed attempts. The combined amount allegedly swindled in 2,768 cases totaled 2.26 billion yen, with many of the callers asking for between 300,000 yen and 500,000 yen.
One victim was bilked by the same perpetrator on several occasions, losing 7 million yen in the process, according to police.