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マイナちゃんAccording to an announcement by the Consumer Affairs Agency on the 6th[1], a woman in her 70s in southern Kanto who received a phone call purporting to concern the My Number system was apparently victimized and made to pay several million yen in cash by September.

The scheme worked as follows.

  1. Someone claiming to represent an official consultation service gives her a fake My Number over the phone.
  2. Another man asks her to “lend him the My Number,” and she tells it to him.
  3. The next day, she is told that “giving someone the My Number is a crime” and is demanded to pay cash. The woman pays several million yen by mail and in person.

The method was almost exactly as expected, leaving little to say, but I never imagined it would happen before the notification cards had even been distributed. Criminals really do go beyond expectations. Even Maina-chan must be surprised.

In response, it will be necessary to make thoroughly known that telling someone your own My Number is not a crime.

Of course, many other schemes can also be anticipated.

For example, a scam offering to complete procedures on someone’s behalf because they supposedly must use their My Number Card. After all, it is equivalent to a registered seal, so everyone should be careful not to discover that their house and property have disappeared—but perhaps saying that here is not enough. Newspapers and television stations, please report this properly. You are supposed to be society’s watchdogs.


[1] Consumer Affairs Agency, “Beware of Fraudulent Solicitation and Attempts to Obtain Personal Information by Exploiting the My Number System!” (2015/10/6) http://www.caa.go.jp/adjustments/pdf/151001adjustments_1.pdf

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