Fraud is rampant in Japanese society these days, and it is not known when and where one will be involved.
One day just before Golden Week, I received a notice of absence from the courier in my mailbox. When I looked at it, it was a delivery from “Amazon NRT5 GROUND”, and it was written as 16,000 yen by cash on delivery.
If I didn’t remember anything, I would have immediately detected it as a fraud and discarded it, but 20 kilograms of rice was supposed to be delivered at exactly the same time. That puzzled me. The rice was purchased using points from a credit card company, so it should have been free, and even if it cost money, it should have been 9,500 yen.
“Did you buy it by mistake without using points?” I’m clumsy, so I make these blunders from time to time.
Anyway, what is Amazon NRT and so on? It should be delivered in the name of the card company. Is it written as Amazon because it is delivered directly from the Amazon warehouse that the card company has a contract with?
After much thought, I prepared the money and tried to call the driver to request redelivery. Just before making the call, I felt a strange commotion, so I searched Amazon NRT on the Internet just in case. Then, articles accusing him of fraud began to flood in. I was convinced of the fraud and immediately asked the courier to return the package.
To be honest, I was nervous when I was about to get caught in a scam. When I relaxed a little, I was horrified by the current social situation where I was stuck in a hole. I felt like I was able to see up close how society’s sense of trust crumbled.
I would like to ask everyone to remain vigilant. The first thing we should do is regain the trust of society. Otherwise well-being is just another dream. (Kei Kitajima)