Photo/Illutration An employee was found to have earned points off of a customer’s purchases at a Seven-Eleven Japan Co. convenience store in Tokyo. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Author Masaru Sato remembers his father, an engineer who worked for a bank, warning him against becoming a banker.

In “Sabaibaru Shukyoron” (Religious theory of survival), Sato says his father defined a banker as someone who sees a price tag on the face of every person, representing how much money he should be able to make from that individual.

Granted, this definition would not apply to all bankers. But that was the sort of culture of the banking business as perceived by an industry insider.

At convenience stores, there apparently are employees who see “store loyalty points” on the face of each customer--points that are theirs to steal.

According to a story that ran in the Aug. 20 Tokyo morning edition of The Asahi Shimbun, a male employee was found to have “transferred” a customer’s points to his own smartphone at a Seven-Eleven Japan Co. outlet in Tokyo in June while scanning the bar codes of the customer’s purchases.

The employee targeted customers who hadn’t signed up for the chain’s loyalty program. Other employees were also engaged in the same type of scam.

The points stolen each time must have been insignificant. But small things add up to make a big difference, as the saying goes.

Similar offenses have been known to happen at other convenience store chains. The companies have started taking preventive measures, which was only to be expected.

True, none of the unsuspecting victims incurred any financial loss, but it’s certainly not pleasant to be taken advantage of.

Loyalty points, in reality, are no different from money in the sense that they can be redeemed when making a purchase.

Come to think of it, there are more and more instances where our actions generate money without our knowledge.

One perfect case in point is big data. Our comings and goings are tracked through our smartphones, and our shopping preferences are gleaned from credit cards. Massive amounts of data collected about consumer trends are traded among businesses.

In the eyes of a mammoth system operating out of our sight, everyone is probably a walking price tag. What a convoluted world we are living in.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 21

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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