NEWS: MOST GULLIBLE WOMAN IN THE WORLD LOSES 49 MILLION YEN!

Tokyo is the largest city on Earth, a hyper-dense megacity of trains, towers, and constant motion. Yet somehow its residents can still display an almost rustic innocence when confronted with a smooth-talking stranger on the telephone.

The ultimate proof: an elderly woman in her 80s just handed over roughly 49 million yen to a man who claimed to be a Tokyo Metropolitan Police officer named “Nishino.” The crime happened in late August, after Nishino rang the poor old dear and insisted the money in her account might be linked to a fraud case. He then told her to withdraw it all for "inspection." She did. Repeatedly.

The caller instructed her to leave the cash outside near her mailbox so it could be "examined." With a pathetic deference to authority or the semblance of authority, the "good citizen" did this three times: first 19 million yen, then 14 million, and finally 16 million. Each time an unknown person collected the bundles. The scammer’s promise to return the money after inspection was, of course, never kept.

The woman only realised something was wrong when she later read a newspaper article about a similar case. Only then did she contact the actual police. Authorities say they are investigating.

In a city of 40 million people spread across Tokyo, Yokohama, Kawasaki and beyond, one might expect a certain streetwise cynicism. Instead, the same deep social trust that makes the metropolis run so smoothly also leaves some of its older inhabitants vulnerable to the oldest tricks. A polite voice claiming official authority is still, for many, enough.

The concrete jungle turns out to have a village heart.