A police officer and security guard watch for potential bank-transfer scams involving ATMs at a bank in Suginami Ward, Tokyo. THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN

The presence of police officers at ATMs looking for bank-transfer scams involving cash points failed to prevent 16 frauds in the Tokyo metropolitan area in the first 14 days of this month, it has been learned.
 
With October designated by police forces nationwide as a month to stamp out such scams, the Metropolitan Police Department has mobilised 6,000 police officers to monitor ATMs at 12,000 locations across the capital.
 
Despite this effort, 16 of 94 incidents of people being duped into remitting money through ATMs into the accounts of criminals took place while police officers were present.

As much as 17 million yen was swindled out of victims in these cases. One victim transferred 2.98 million yen.
 
The MPD has played up the fact that the majority of victims have been elderly. It has instructed officers, clerks and other staff at financial institutions with ATMs to warn senior citizens about the shady practice.
 
The MPD hopes to eradicate these scams by continually manning ATMs at 1,000 sites throughout the month, and having officers regularly patrol the 11,000 other locations.
 
Swindlers conned victims out of a total of about 170 million yen in the 94 incidents in the month to Tuesday. This is less than the 215 million yen taken in 138 incidents in the corresponding period last month, but still far short of extinguishing ATM remittance fraud.
 
These disappointing figures prompted the MPD to quickly analyse the circumstances of the crimes.
 
While the MPD expected the scams to be concentrated at convenience stores and unmanned ATMs, it found about 70 percent of the unscrupulous bank transfers were made at cash points in financial institutions where bank clerks and other personnel were present.
 
In addition to the 16 cases perpetrated at ATMs where police officers were stationed, staff at financial institutions stationed next to machines were unable to prevent 35 scams, which cost victims a total of 40 million yen.
 
In the majority of cases, it is believed that police officers or bank clerks did not notice victims transferring money. However, police and bank personnel also failed to prevent a number of scams by warning victims even though they suspected fraud was taking place.
 
A 59-year-old woman shook off a police officer who warned her about the scams, saying that it was a domestic matter and of no concern to the officer. She then transferred 1.3 million yen to fraudsters.
 
In a separate case, a 73-year-old woman remitted 500,000 yen after telling an inquiring bank clerk she did not need help.
 
The MPD hopes to figure out effective ways for police officers and bank staff to communicate with elderly people to make sure they do not fall victim to the persuasive ways of con artists.