TOKYO, April 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The Japanese city of Osaka will ban elderly people from using ATMs while on a phone call under a new rule to tackle a growing scourge of targeted scams.

Nationwide, damage from organised fraud schemes -- orchestrated by criminal gangs including the yakuza -- reached a record 72.2 billion yen ($500 million) last year.

Older people are often prime targets for cold calls, with scammers posing as relatives, police or lawyers to coax them into withdrawing or transferring cash.

So authorities in Osaka have brought in an ordinance that takes effect from August prohibiting those aged 65 and older from holding phone calls while using an ATM.

The law, reportedly a first for Japan, requires ATM operators to notify their patrons of the ban, for example by putting up posters or distributing fliers.

However, there will be no punishments for elderly people or institutions that fail to comply.

"As elderly people are victims of the scammers, and operators including banks are our allies in trying to prevent scams, it's not appropriate to penalise them", regional official Ryo Hamaoka explained to AFP on Friday.

Osaka in western Japan has the second-largest number of organised fraud cases overall after Tokyo, police say.

The revised law also urges businesses to work towards using AI technology to help their ATMs detect users speaking on mobile phones.

Forms of organised fraud include the classic "it's me" scam, where perpetrators impersonate family members in trouble to extract money from the victim.

Elderly people can also be cajoled into using ATMs to get non-existent "refunds" of their insurance premiums or pensions, police have warned.