Here is a story that illustrates why Japan is considered to be a con artist’s dream come true.

Recently, a man who works for a jewelry company checked into the Nagano Palace Hotel, carrying a briefcase containing 100 million yen worth of jewelry. The guy goes out for dinner, leaving his briefcase in his room.

But believe it or not, he is not the only dupe in this story.

While he was out, the hotel got a phone call from someone claming to be another employee of the jewelry company, who told the folks at the front desk that a customer of the company would soon be arriving and they should hand over the key to the room to him.

Soon afterwards a man arrived at the hotel and front clerk dutifully handed over the key to the room.

Of course, when the original employee got back from dinner he found his briefcase of jewelry long gone, with no sign of the “customer.”