On Valentine's Day, the 14th, chocolates with messages on them were handed out at commercial facilities in Kai City, Yamanashi Prefecture, in an effort to prevent fraud by communicating with family members who live far away.
In Yamanashi Prefecture, the annual damage caused by telephone scams impersonating people's sons and grandchildren has exceeded 100 million yen for 12 consecutive years, and the situation continues to be serious.
At a commercial facility in Kai City, 15 people, including police officers, handed out chocolates to shoppers on Valentine's Day and appealed to customers to prevent fraud.
The chocolates are decorated with messages likened to chocolates, such as ``Wait a moment to transfer money at that ATM'' or ``Let's keep in touch with your parents.''
A man in his 80s who received the card said, ``I thought it was easy to remember because it had the word 'chocolate' in it.I don't answer the phone at home, and if someone talks about money I immediately hang up.''
Hiroyuki Nakamura, Chief of the Life Safety Division at Kai Police Station, said, ``If you receive a suspicious call, please take a moment to calm down, and first consult the police or the people around you.'' .
In addition, the 15th is the first pension payment day of this year, and the police are calling for vigilance as there is a tendency for fraudulent calls targeting elderly people to increase.