Prison Confession by Luffy Robbery Gang Inmate Risa Yamada Reveals Shocking Details of Special Fraud Techniques

Frustrations with Fellow Members

Box A lived together in a rented house on Boracay Island. Yamada reflects that he sensed certain characteristics of those applying for shadow jobs.

“Our box had about 40 members, ranging in age from their 10s to their 60s. There were also women among them. Many of them were the type who wanted to earn money easily. Most people who join special fraud groups are not accustomed to being reprimanded. However, in special fraud, there are many more opportunities to be scolded than in ordinary jobs. There was a significant gap there.

Therefore, those without a strong will to earn money at any cost would never make any money. Even so, Box A was relatively lenient compared to other boxes. While Box ST would immediately fire callers who couldn’t earn, Box A feared being reported and avoided cutting people as much as possible. Mr. Watanabe ran the box with the policy of ‘let’s all earn together,’ and I thought of him as the best boss in Japan.”

However, at the same time, a disparity in work volume emerged. There were even instances where Yamada showed signs of anger towards members of the same group.

“For example, Hitomi Kumai (arrested for theft in 2023). When she was apprehended, she cried like a child, saying she was anxious about the future, ‘Waa, waa.’ Since what she was doing was criminal, she should have been prepared for anything that might happen, but she wasn’t. Kumai was not only involved in using seductive tactics but was also irresponsible with her work. I even thought she came here to find a man.

In fact, Kairi Fujita, who dated Kumai and was arrested for theft in 2023, boasted about having graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University. It was later found to be a lie, but there were also people claiming to be alumni of the Tokyo Six Universities. Some had wealthy parents but felt a sense of stagnation in their lives in Japan and had given up on working hard. Kairi also said he came here because he was bored with Japan.

After moving the base from a hotel to a private house, everyone began spending more time together in the living room. There was a vibe like drinking, playing games, or having a driving license boot camp. Couples formed, and it felt like a share house of a special fraud group. Some, like Kairi, would lie about their educational background and history, bragging about having many friends in Setagaya Ward, among other things. It was really trivial, and I watched it all with a cold eye, thinking, ‘Just do some work before talking about anything.”

Within the group, there were only 2 to 3 people, including Yamada, who could defraud over 10 million yen a month. Relying solely on manuals had its limits. That was the conclusion reached by Yamada, who was a top player. What kind of scam talk did he actually use?

“The group had a script (a manual for scam talk), but we rarely spoke according to the manual; instead, we adapted to each situation. The callers would make over 100 calls a day, using a website called ‘Jusho de Pon!’ which compiled addresses, names, and phone numbers, and would randomly make calls. The callers in our group almost always pretended to be police officers. Japanese people are vulnerable to authoritative titles such as police, banks, and government agencies. We strongly felt this. At the time, I even thought it was strange if someone didn’t get deceived.

We only discussed things that seemed plausible. That’s why we were able to deceive people. For example, we would say, ‘This is Igarashi from the XX Police Department. An employee of XX Bank has been arrested for fraud. There is information regarding your account, and it might be misused.

This would be handled by the first line, which verifies account balances and personal information, and then handed over to the second line to report the damage and extract PINs and other details. The third line then gives instructions to those in Japan responsible for withdrawing cash, and so on.

I was responsible for the first and second lines, with first line calls lasting about 5 minutes. Keeping people on the line too long is not good. On the other hand, the second line might take about an hour. The organization had hundreds of callers, and there were several hundred to a thousand people involved in withdrawing cash, rotating in and out.”