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Three floating baseball bats in a swimming pool are designed to warn seniors about scammers
Photo: City of Toyokawa / picture alliance / dpa
In Japan's rapidly aging society, seniors are increasingly becoming victims of scammers.
The police in Toyokawa in Aichi prefecture are therefore warning of such "ore ore" ("It's me, it's me)" rip-offs with an unusual idea.
The authority had baseball bats distributed in an onsen bath popular with the elderly.
These are now floating in the hot spring water with warning notices.
That said a spokesman for the local police.
The reason: Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan.
While the onsen visitors bathe in the hot water, the baseball bats drift around them, making the mostly elderly people aware of the danger posed by con artists.
Warnings such as "Do not tell anyone else your PIN" or "Do not answer suspicious calls" are written in Japanese on the wooden clubs.
The idea for the unusual awareness-raising campaign was developed by the police together with a local society for the prevention of crimes.
In 2018, the number of such phone scams rose to 9,134 cases in Japan, a ten-year high.
The perpetrators often call older people on the pretext of being grandchildren, sons or good friends.
Then they simulate a financial bottleneck and ask for large amounts of cash.
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svv / dpa
