Elderly Japanese men keeps ATM PIN on paper in wallet, but it’s the thieves who should be worried

Clever codger shows he still has a strong memory and a sharp mind.

As in many countries, there’s a preconception in Japan that senior citizens are easy marks for thieves, con men, and dishonest types in general. Because of that, an acquaintance of Japanese Twitter user @yuk0117 was understandably worried when he noticed a conspicuous memo that his own grandfather kept in his wallet.

Jotted down on the slip of paper was the grandfather’s ATM card PIN. The friend quickly voiced his concern that this would give anyone who stole the wallet unlimited access to his grandfather’s bank account, but it turned out there was a wily method to the elderly madness. As quoted by @yuk0117, if thieves end up with Grandpa’s wallet, he wants them to see the number.

知人の爺がクレカ入り財布を落とした →財布の中には暗証番号メモもいれてある →やばいじゃん！？ →爺「問題ない。暗証番号は5つ記してある」 →？ →爺「そしてその全てはダミーだ」 →！？ →爺「ATMでそのダミー全て試すとロックされて銀行から俺に連絡がくる」 →そして実際連絡きた

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ゆき（みっと） (@yuk0117) August 27, 2016

“It’s no problem if they see it. I’ve actually got five PINs written on the memo, and they’re all fakes. If you try them all at the ATM, it locks the card, and lets the bank know to contact me.”

Apparently this works in more than just theory, too. While he withholds the specific details, @yuk0117 goes on to say that at some point someone did try to use Gramp’s credit card without his permission, and the plan worked like a charm, with the bank freezing his account so that the would-be thieves couldn’t get into it.

The tweet quickly earned respecting applause from @ yuk0117’s followers. Some pointed out, though, that the story is extremely similar to one that made the rounds of the Japanese Internet roughly two years ago. Whether @yuk0117’s acquaintance is the grandchild of the senior citizen who people were talking about at that time or his grandfather the stories and decided to adopt the same tactics is unknown, but in any case, it’s a reminder that sometimes it’s not just wisdom that comes with age, but cunning too.

Source: Buzzmag
Top image: Consumer Affairs Agency

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