Scam?

[GomiGirl]

On Friday after I had left the office, some dude rings my office and asks to speak directly to me. He had my name. He was Japanese.

Told my staff that I owed him money. I haven't borrowed money from anybody.

My staff were all really embarrassed etc and didn't know what to say as I wasn't in the office at the time. I have assured them that I haven't borrowed anything from anybody and if he calls again to take a name, number and other details such as how much I am supposed to have borrowed and when.

Have no idea who it is or what it was all about but I suspect a scam attempt.

Anybody heard of any similar stories?

[chokonen888]

Heard of that scam before. Did he demand immediate payment or what was the angle he was trying to push?

[Hanzo the Razor]

You best stop dodging me and pay up, bitch.

[cstaylor]

My staff were all really embarrassed etc and didn't know what to say as I wasn't in the office at the time. I have assured them that I haven't borrowed anything from anybody and if he calls again to take a name, number and other details such as how much I am supposed to have borrowed and when.

I solved this little problem long ago with my staff. "Anyone asking for me directly by name will state their business, and if it's not on the following list, take a name and number. Anything not on this list, the person has my cellphone number and will call me directly." It's just another form of ore-ore sagi.

[GomiGirl]

Suspected that it was a scam attempt.

Weird though as it was a Japanese dude asking for me by name. Wonder where he got it from.

My assistant was also not in the office and the guy who took the call is super polite and he was too embarrassed to talk directly to me about it so he told my assistant. Then yesterday my assistant took me discretely into a conference room and gently asked if I had borrowed money from anybody. Bless her heart. Perhaps she might have wondered if I had a secret gambling problem and had run up debts.

When I said that I had no idea what it could be about and it might be a scam, she then went into action and informed everybody of the new procedure for handling odd phone calls like this. She made it clear that I owe nobody money and that if anybody claims this, they need to get a name, a phone number, an amount and a contract with my signature on it. If it happens again we are calling the plod.

If anything it has been quite amusing to see how the staff handled something this odd. A good lesson for them not to assume that the voice on the end of the phone is telling the truth and to not be afraid of asking for details.

[Hammer]

That's bizarre.
Sounds like Cstaylor has been hit by the same sort of scam?
I wonder if there's a group specifically targeting gaijin?

[GomiGirl]

I am hardly anonymous on the net though. So I guess it is pretty easy to find where I work and my real name if somebody did a super quick google.

The irony is that even if somebody was trying to scam me, I don't have much worth scamming. Am hardly an expat with all the lurks and perks and big bucks. Am just an ordinary working wage slave slob.

[IparryU]

I am hardly anonymous on the net though. So I guess it is pretty easy to find where I work and my real name if somebody did a super quick google.

The irony is that even if somebody was trying to scam me, I don't have much worth scamming. Am hardly an expat with all the lurks and perks and big bucks. Am just an ordinary working wage slave slob.

Just forget about it for now. But if the guy calls back be sure to get all of his details so you can report it to the police. just act like you will pay him and have your assistant run it by the koban.

snake the SOB!

[CrankyBastard]

Definitely a call to the police would be best.
As you don't know who you are dealing with, the least contact with them the better.
If it's organized crime elements, any kind of interaction can have bad consequences down the line.
Let the plods handle it from the word go.
JMHO

[TennoChinko]

Is that damned NHK man stalking you?

[cstaylor]

Sounds like Cstaylor has been hit by the same sort of scam?

If you mean "hit" as in "annoying phone calls", yeah. I receive calls from grifters of all persuasions, although the most annoying are the cold-calling gaijin salespeople looking to push insurance/real estate/money management services... like I need those kind of services from a dope selling them over the telephone.

I've only had to escalate an annoyance once beyond the simple brush-off, but this person was "introduced" from a business acquaintance... not something I'd want to go into too much detail in an online public forum, but I escaped with only my time lost.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I was going to become a con artist, but after I while I realized that I was too dumb. So, I thought about becoming an extortionist, but I wasn't physically imposing enough. Then, I decided there was a way I could have the best of both worlds, conning and extorting...I became a lawyer!!