Fraud prevention: Japanese police test payment card to prevent scams

In the Japanese prefecture of Fukui, the Echizen police have introduced special voucher cards to combat fraud. These "virus/trojan removal fee payment cards" and "payment cards for unpaid fees/arrears" are placed in convenience stores. This is according to various Japanese media reports. If someone tries to buy such a card, the police are informed immediately to protect potential fraud victims.

The police speculate that ransomware victims, for example, will purchase such a card. The store employees then contact the police, who are informed that the card has been purchased. Following the introduction of the cards in November 2023, at least two elderly people were protected from fraud in the same month and in December. According to the Japanese media outlet Fukui Shimbun, the cards were offered for sale in 34 stores. It is not yet known whether further cases of fraud have been prevented, but the police have issued awards to two store employees.

This is an attempt by the Japanese police to make the elderly population in particular more aware of scams, as older people fall victim to fraudsters time and time again. They are often asked to transfer huge sums of money to fraudsters by telephone, but also by text message, WhatsApp message and email.

There are many different types of scams. Google and Apple, for example, have been warning about "gift card scams" for years, in which criminals try to obtain the codes on gift cards. The police are also trying to combat fraud attempts in this country, especially among older people: for example, the Muldental and Leipzig savings banks are cooperating with the police to prevent fraud by printing flyers and cash envelopes with warnings, as the city of Grimma informed us. For example, higher amounts of money are only handed out together with fraud warnings.

(mack)