A 7-eleven branch saved a soon-to-be scam victim

Convenience Store Owner Saves Foreigner From Online Scam Artist

TOKYO – Japanese convenience stores are known for their amazing and various dishes. Not only the food, but their services too—you can even buy concert or movie tickets, pick up packages from online shopping websites, and pay taxes. However, a big round of applause for a 7-eleven branch in Hyogo Prefecture, they recently provide protection from online scam artists.

On a Monday afternoon last month, Takeshi Yamada worked in his store as he is the owner of the branch. At around 3 in the afternoon, a 19 years-old foreigner came to his store and purchased a 31,000 yen gift card. Then, the teen suddenly took photos of the giftcard. It is an unusual sight for Yamada to see, so he asked the teen what the pictures. The teen told Yamada that he's buying a smartphone at a cheap price. He also showed Yamada the message written on the phone.

According to Yamada, the message was written in Japanese which told the customer to send pictures of the gift cards he just purchased. Yamada thought something was strange, so he contacted the police and report the case as scam. The police then told him that there have been five similar cases in Kakogawa, with a total of 80 million yen. 

Due to the report, the teen did not send the photos to the scammer. Furthermore, Yamada fully refunded the teen's money, so he didn't lose a penny. The police gave Yamada a certificate of accommodation following the incident, which is now displayed next to other certificates in the store.

Yamada has told the employees to take care of the customers if they see unusual actions like what he did with the foreigner.