Man in His 20s Scammed Out of ¥15,000 After Falling for ‘¥1.2 Billion Jackpot’ Text — 5ch Reacts: ‘Hope That ¥1.2 Billion Shows Up Soon’

The story

A man in his 20s, a company employee living in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, was reportedly scammed out of roughly ¥15,000 after a “You’ve won ¥1.2 billion!” text message led him to a site that told him he needed to pay a “deposit.” Following the instructions, he bought prepaid e-money cards at a convenience store three separate times and handed over the card numbers to the scammer, according to police. On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, the news drew a wave of mocking replies like “Hope that ¥1.2 billion gets transferred soon,” alongside genuine surprise that “even someone in their 20s these days falls for this kind of scam,” with posters also comparing it to other scams targeting young people, like the “yami baito” (shady under-the-table job) schemes.

On October 2, a man in his 20s, a company employee living in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, was the victim of a scam in which a “You’ve won ¥1.2 billion!” notification on his smartphone led him to be defrauded of roughly ¥15,000 worth of e-money usage rights.

According to police, on October 2 a text message notification reading “You’ve won ¥1.2 billion!” arrived on the smartphone of a man in his 20s, a company employee living in Kakegawa City.

To pay the “temporary deposit” listed on the site he was directed to, the man followed the scammer’s instructions and bought e-money cards at a convenience store on three separate occasions. He relayed the card numbers to the scammer and was defrauded of approximately ¥15,000, police said.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Sad News] Man in His 20s Who Won ¥1.2 Billion Still Hasn’t Received Payment, Heading to the Police.”