The Niigata Police Department awarded a certificate of appreciation to Daishi Hokuetsu Bank’s Niigata Ekimae branch and Niigata Higashi-Odori branch, as well as to Deputy Manager Kazunori Kuwana (50) and employee Taisei Sotoritsu (24), for preventing the spread of a romance scam via social networking services.
According to the police, on July 26, a woman in her 40’s from Niigata City visited the bank and, while using her smartphone, requested to send ¥315,000 (about $2,000). Sotoritsu, who handled the transaction at the counter, found the situation suspicious and consulted Kuwana. When Kuwana asked the woman the reason for the transfer, she said, “A foreign man confessed his feelings to me and told me he needed money for fees because his business was successful, and he promised to pay me back.” Realizing it was a scam, they prevented the transfer.
