No phone calls at the ATM, Japan's Osaka tells over-65s

Tokyo: The Japanese city of Osaka will ban elderly people from using ATMs while on a phone call under a new rule to tackle a growing scourge of target...

Tokyo: The Japanese city of Osaka will ban elderly people from using ATMs while on a phone call under a new rule to tackle a growing scourge of targeted scams.

Nationwide, damage from organised fraud schemes -- orchestrated by criminal gangs including the yakuza -- reached a record 72.2 billion yen ($500 million) last year.

Older people are often prime targets for cold calls, with scammers posing as relatives, police or lawyers to coax them into withdrawing or transferring cash.

So authorities in Osaka have brought in an ordinance that takes effect from August prohibiting those aged 65 and older from holding phone calls while using an ATM.

The law, reportedly a first for Japan, requires ATM operators to notify their patrons of the ban, for example by putting up posters or distributing fliers.