“Donald Trump” fraudster accused of scamming confused citizens in Japanese phone scam

If Donald Trump called you on the phone asking for cash in broken Japanese, would you give him a single yen?

One of the most common scams in Japan involves a fraudster calling an elderly person on the phone and saying “It’s me! I’m in trouble, and I need you to send me some money.” It sounds laughably see-through, but by taking advantage of seniors with diminished memories or other mental capacities, the criminals are often able to trick them into thinking the call is coming from their child or grandchild, often saying “What? Don’t you recognize my voice?” if asked to give their name.

But an accused fraudster in Aichi Prefecture allegedly gave a name right at the start of his phone scam, and the name he gave was Donald Trump.

According to investigators, Yoshihiro Fusano, a 44-year-old nursing care worker in the town of Kanie, ran the scam during December of 2018 and January of 2019, calling up his targets and introducing himself as then-sitting U.S. president Donald Trump. Speaking purposely stilted and broken Japanese, Fusano would tell them “You’re under contract for international insurance. In order to cancel it, you have to pay a cancellation fee,” and then instruct them to transfer the money to a designated bank account.

The police claim that Fusano bilked his targets out of some 900,000 yen (US$8,695), and on Thursday he was placed under arrest. He is currently denying the allegations, saying “I borrowed the money, but I did not swindle anyone. The victims are delusional.”

▼ Fusano apparently fails to realize that he himself calling the people whose money ended up in his pocket “victims” probably isn’t helping his chances of being acquitted.

In the meantime, should any heads of state call you up out of the blue and personally ask you for cash, we strongly encourage you to discuss the situation with the police before giving them anything, or to at least talk it over with your local convenience store clerk.

Source: Teleasa News via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Wikipedia/Guanaco, Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24)
Insert image: Pakutaso
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