Japan Skating Federation Scammed by Nigerians

  • Profiles of the Day
    • More at Japan Probe Friends...

    According to the Yomiuri Shinbun the former president of the Japan Skating Federation embezzled about $78,000 of his organization’s money so that he could send it to a Nigerian internet scammer:

    Ex-JSF chief ‘stole 9 million yen’ to pay Nigerian ‘investment’

    The Yomiuri Shimbun

    The former president of the Japan Skating Federation allegedly embezzled funds to cover losses he ran up as a result of an Internet-based scam, according to sources familiar with the case.

    Katsuichiro Hisanaga, 74, resigned from the post in June 2004 ostensibly for health reasons, but in fact due to the embezzlement, the sources said Monday.

    Hisanaga used money from a company he had run since 1998 to invest in a fraudulent asset management proposal that originated in Nigeria and which was widely circulated on the Internet.

    Due to his losses, he allegedly embezzled about 90 percent of the 10 million yen that N-H-K contributed to the federation’s preparatory fund for the 2003 figure skating N-H-K Cup in Asahikawa, Hokkaido.

    After the hole in the federation’s funds was discovered, an executive board member filled the gap with his own money. The executive has reportedly not been repaid.

    (Apr. 26, 2006)
    Typical Nigerian 419 scammer

    Sadly, this story doesn’t surprise me much. The Japanese tend to be a very trusting people, not as aware as they should be of the fact that most people in the world are not to be trusted.
    Luckily, most Japanese don’t understand enough English to be scammed by Nigerian 419 spam mails. More commonly they are scammed by “It’s me!” phone call scammers or by “friends” they meet on trips abroad.
    The “It’s me!” scam was a huge problem a couple years ago. Elderly Japanese people were falling victim to scammers who would call them up and claim to be relatives in distress. The victims sent large sums of money/access information to complete strangers. Here is an example of how the scam worked:

    Scammer: “Hi, Mom, it’s me.”Victim: “Who’s this?”

    Scammer: “It’s me, Mom, me.”

    Victim: “…Taro?”

    Scammer: “Yeah, that’s right. Mom, I’ve been in a car accident and I don’t have any money. I need you to deposit 2 million yen into my bank account …”

    Luckily, after intense media coverage and new safety measures by banks, the scam has become less common. A lot of Japanese people have learned not to send money to random people who call them.

    The other well-publicized scam involves Japanese tourists being tricked into smuggling drugs. In these cases, Japanese tourists meet new ‘friends’ while traveling abroad and are tricked into carrying luggage for their friends. These Japanese tourists don’t bother to check the contents of what they are carrying, or even realize the possibility that they could be smuggling drugs. The fact that most foreign police departments do not have translators skilled in the Japanese language doesn’t help either, as in the case of gullible drug smuggler Chika Honda. Honda unwittlingly smuggled large quantities of heroin into Australia after being offered a new bag by a ‘tour guide’ who had discovered that her luggage was damaged. Apparently she didn’t notice that her new bag bag, with secret heroin-ladden pockets, was much heavier than her previous bag.

    How can the Japanese combat these scammers? By trusting no one.

    Related Posts with Thumbnails