74-year-old university lecturer swindled out of ¥25 million in romance scam

HIROSHIMA (TR) – A 74-year-old university lecturer was swindled out of 25 million yen in an elaborate romance and investment scam after falling prey to a smooth-talking fraudster she met on Facebook.

The victim, identified by the pseudonym Nobuko Sato, is an elite academic who continues to teach at a university in Hiroshima.

Despite her education, she handed over her life savings — kept as cash in a home safe from matured insurance policies — to scammers who exploited her lonely marriage, reports weekly tabloid Shukan Post (Aug. 28-Sep. 4).

Shukan Post Aug. 28-Sep. 4

The ordeal began in February when Sato received a Facebook friend request from an account named “Yokota,” who appeared to be friends with a former student of hers. Yokota presented himself as a 53-year-old divorced Japanese man working at the Tiffany & Co. branch in Umeda, Osaka City and claimed to be a graduate of the University of Chicago.

Yokota quickly won Sato’s trust by engaging her in deep discussions about philosophy, art history, and economics. For Sato, who described her 50-year marriage to a domineering husband as oppressive and suffocating, Yokota provided a much-needed intellectual and emotional outlet.

“When he told me, ‘You’ve been heavily repressed,’ I was taken aback by how well he understood me,” Sato told the tabloid.

By late March, the conversation shifted to cryptocurrency. When Yokota became pushy about investing, Sato initially refused and deleted his LINE contact. However, Yokota relentlessly pursued her via Facebook, sending a photo of his tear-stained face and claiming he could neither sleep nor eat because of her rejection. Feeling guilty, Sato resumed contact.

Yokota soon convinced her to download a cryptocurrency trading app, which was actually a sophisticated fake flagged by Japan’s Financial Services Agency. To bait her, Yokota claimed he would deposit a 30-million-yen “guarantee” into her account, promising massive returns if she matched it with her own funds.

Having skillfully extracted information about Sato’s hidden cash reserves, Yokota instructed her to hand the money over to “collection agents.”

On April 13, Sato met a man appearing to be in his 60s at a cafe in Hiroshima. Wearing an earpiece and a fake corporate ID badge, the man hastily stuffed the 20 million yen in cash into his backpack, remarking only on how heavy the bills were before leaving without issuing a receipt. Nine days later, Sato handed an additional 5 million yen over to a second agent.

The scam finally unraveled when Yokota told Sato she needed to pay 2.7 million yen in “taxes” to withdraw her supposed profits. When Sato visited her local bank to arrange the payment, a vigilant branch manager immediately pulled her into a private room.

“You are the victim of a scam,” the manager told her, explaining that the person she was communicating with was likely part of an overseas fraud ring.

Sato filed a formal damage report with the police criminal investigation division on May 3. Detectives informed her that the men she met were merely ukeko (money mules) executing orders from higher-ups in the syndicate. Officers advised her to consult a lawyer, as recovering the defrauded cash is largely a civil matter.

The case remains unresolved, and the psychological toll on Sato has been devastating. Three months after the crime came to light, she continues to suffer from severe insomnia and physical exhaustion.

Compounding her distress, she has kept the massive financial loss a complete secret from her family. “My husband would definitely be furious, so I can’t bring myself to tell him,” Sato lamented. “The stolen money was my savings, but it is marital property. I know I have to tell him, but I just can’t bear to wear down my nerves any further.”

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广岛（TR）——一名74岁的大学讲师在Facebook上结识了一名能说会道的骗子，被精心设计的爱情和投资骗局骗走了2500万日元。

受害者化名佐藤信子，是一位杰出的学者，目前仍在广岛的一所大学任教。

据周刊小报《周刊邮报》（8月28日至9月4日）报道，尽管她受过良好的教育，但她还是将毕生积蓄——以现金形式存放在家中保险箱里，用于支付到期的保险金——交给了那些利用她孤独婚姻的骗子。

《周刊邮报》8月28日-9月4日

这场噩梦始于二月份，当时佐藤收到了一个名为“横田”的Facebook好友请求，此人似乎是她一位前学生的好友。横田自称是一位53岁的离异日本男子，在大阪市梅田区的蒂芙尼公司分店工作，并声称自己毕业于芝加哥大学。

横田通过与佐藤深入探讨哲学、艺术史和经济学，很快赢得了她的信任。佐藤形容自己与专横跋扈的丈夫长达50年的婚姻令人窒息，横田为她提供了一个急需的精神和情感出口。

佐藤告诉这家小报：“当他告诉我‘你一直受到严重的压抑’时，我惊讶于他对我的理解如此透彻。”

三月下旬，两人的话题转向了加密货币。当横田开始极力劝说投资时，佐藤最初拒绝并删除了他的LINE联系人。然而，横田却在Facebook上锲而不舍地纠缠她，发了一张自己泪流满面的照片，声称因为被她拒绝而食不下咽、夜不能寐。佐藤感到内疚，于是又重新联系了横田。

横田很快说服她下载了一款加密货币交易应用程序，而这实际上是一个精心设计的骗局，已被日本金融厅标记为骗局。为了引诱她，横田声称会向她的账户存入3000万日元的“保证金”，并承诺如果她投入同等金额的资金，就能获得巨额回报。

横田巧妙地套取了佐藤隐藏的现金储备信息后，指示她将这笔钱交给“收债人”。

4月13日，佐藤在广岛一家咖啡馆遇到一名看似六十多岁的男子。该男子戴着耳机，佩戴着伪造的公务证，匆匆将2000万日元现金塞进背包，只说了几句钞票很重，便未留下收据便离开了。九天后，佐藤又将500万日元交给了另一名特工。

骗局最终败露，是因为横田告诉佐藤，她需要支付270万日元的“税款”才能提取所谓的利润。佐藤前往当地银行办理付款事宜时，一位警觉的支行经理立即将她拉进一间私人房间。

“你遭遇了诈骗，”经理告诉她，并解释说与她联系的人很可能是海外诈骗团伙的成员。

5月3日，佐藤向警方刑事调查科提交了正式的损失报告。侦探告知她，她遇到的那些人只是受雇于犯罪集团高层的洗钱者（运钞骡子）。警方建议她咨询律师，因为追回被骗的钱款主要属于民事纠纷。

案件至今仍未侦破，佐藤女士遭受的心理创伤是毁灭性的。案发三个月后，她仍然饱受严重失眠和身体疲惫的折磨。

更令她痛苦的是，她一直对家人隐瞒着这笔巨大的经济损失。“我丈夫肯定会勃然大怒，所以我实在说不出口，”佐藤叹息道。“被偷的钱是我的积蓄，但那是夫妻共同财产。我知道我必须告诉他，但我实在无法再承受这种煎熬了。”

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