In a joint effort to fight rampant "furikome" bank transfer scams targeting elderly people, the police, financial institutions and the Finance Ministry's branch in Fukuoka Prefecture have launched a system in which institutions alert the police each time a person aged 65 or older asks to make a withdrawal of more than ¥5 million.
Commercial banks, "shinkin" credit banks and credit associations are participating in the system, which was introduced in December.
Under the system, the institutions notify the police regarding any request for a hefty cash withdrawal after the clerk checks the customer's age and the purpose for the withdrawal.