Ever heard of the ‘ore ore’ scams encountered in Japan? Ore ore (俺俺) means ‘It’s me, it’s me!’ and is used to represent this social problem because the unpleasant encounter quite often begins with those very words. Today we examine a safety notice advising residents on how to avoid being deceived.
The article we’re looking at is a special feature about crime prevention (防犯特集 – ぼうはんとくしゅう) as written at the top of the page. It issues us this warning in bold letters:
振込詐欺にご注意ください！
ふりこめさぎに ごちゅうい ください！
Beware of bank transfer fraud!
The key word here is 詐欺 – a scam or fraud. 振込 is type a money transfer often used in Japan. Once you know the recipient’s bank details, you can transfer money to them. So how does this type of scam work? There are two types, according to the article.
Type 1 – The Fake Policeman
The first scenario talks about the resident receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be a policeman. They will attempt to ask for your pin number under the guise of having captured a fraudster and then inform you that a policeman will be visiting your house to collect your card for inspection. Of course, the real fraudster is the person claiming to be the policeman!
Some useful phrases here:
警察官を名乗る男が訪問し、
けいさつかんを なのる おとこが ほうもんし、
The person claiming to be a policeman will visit you and
名乗る means to ‘call oneself’. The name, title or position you tell to the other person.
The final message in red at the bottom:
警察官や銀行協会、金融機関が、電話など口頭で暗証番号等を聞くことはありません！
けいさつかんや ぎんこうきょうかい、 きんゆうきかんが、 でんわなど こうとうで あんしょうばんごうなどを きくことは ありません！
The police department, banking associations and other financial institutions will never ask you for your pin number over the phone!
Lots of big words here, but nothing to be scared about. They’re just the names of types of institution. One word you’ll want to take away though, is 暗証番号 – pin number. This one comes up all the time in daily life, as you’d imagine!
Type 2 – The Pleading Son
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