Japanese police officer comes up with cute reminder to help people not get scammed over the phone

His pun-game is almost as strong as his origami-game.

Scams are as prevalent in Japan as anywhere else in the world, especially over the phone where scammers pretend to be relatives asking for money.

Thanks to government efforts to spread awareness of the scams, people are much more wary of them now and can avoid them, but that doesn’t mean they’ve gone away.

Recently Japanese Twitter user @DynamiteNaoki received such a phone call, and when he informed the police, he got this unexpected, adorable response:

▼ How does an origami bunny help to prevent scams?? Well….
(Translation below)

先日の振り込め詐欺の事で110番したら、近くの派出所から警察が来てくれた。
帰りに「何かいらないチラシありますか？」と言われたので渡すと、ウサギを折ってくれた。
これを電話の近くに置いて「うっ、詐欺！？」と思い出して気を付けて下さいとの事
千葉県警に提案しているけど採用されないとの事 pic.twitter.com/Z2iSFRdAt3

— ダイナマイト☆ナオキ (@DynamiteNaoki) November 25, 2021

When I called the police about a phone scam the other day, an officer from a nearby station came to my home.

As he was leaving he asked, “Do you have any paper you don’t need?” So I gave him some and he made an origami bunny.

He placed it near my phone and said that it would act as a reminder to be careful, since whenever I saw it I’d remember: “Uu, sagi?!”

(Note: Uu means “Oh no,” sagi means “scam,” and all together Usagi means “bunny”)

The officer also said he’s suggested this idea to the Chiba Police but for some reason it hasn’t caught on

We have to say, that’s a pretty cute idea. And while we hope that the officers do their due diligence in tracking down the scammers, a little mnemonic-bunny by the phone could genuinely be a decent preventative measure for some vulnerable people.

The victim might not remember all of the details about what to do in that kind of situation, but the “Uu, Sagi” mascot could remind them to just hang up right then and there!

In fact, it’s such a good idea, that one commenter already made fanart of the scam-stopping pun bunny!

▼ “I made ‘Uu, Sagi’ into a character. When you press his tummy, his eyes light up.”

うっサギをキャラクター化してみました。
お腹を押すと目が光ります。 pic.twitter.com/tPrL0lYWxQ

— Sky@illustration (@sky03126) November 26, 2021

▼ Someone else showed a sign from Tokyo that used herons (sagi in Japanese) on an anti-scam sign, but they’re not quite as cute and the text doesn’t specifically call out the animals.

これは東京ですが…鶴と鷺の違いもよくわかってないので、兎もわからないのかもしれません pic.twitter.com/nREDTp7Rsv

— くろすけ (@save_the_cat) November 26, 2021

Most Japanese netizens were enamored by the “Uu, Sagi” and were flabbergasted why it hasn’t been officially adopted yet:

“What why is that so cute??”
“That’s an amazing idea.”
“I love it. I want to marry it.”
“That officer missed his call in marketing.”
“Such creativity.”
“This needs to be adopted on a national level.”

Considering Japan’s penchant for even terrifying mascots, it’s kind of amazing that “Uu, Sagi” isn’t a real thing yet. Maybe it’s because it’s winter and the police officers are too busy making police-cruiser ice-sculptures.

Source: Twitter/@DynamiteNaoki via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Twitter/@DynamiteNaoki
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