scams

Japan is changing its yen bills soon, so beware of scam artists, government warns

New bills go into circulation this summer.

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Nagoya elementary students caught defrauding classmate for nearly 1 million yen

Money spent on souvenir tokens and Canadian currency.

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Fake monks scam foreign tourists out of their cash in Tokyo

A reminder to be careful while sightseeing at famous tourist spots in Japan. 

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Japan considering restricting senior citizens’ access to ATMs

National Police Agency believe it’s for their own good.

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We trick an online scammer into teaching us how to cook the best fried rice we’ve ever made

A shady start leads to shining glory in the SoraKitchen.

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Japanese makers of Tropicana fined 19 million yen for “100% Melon” juice with only 2% melon juice

Accountability never tasted so sweet.

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Nintendo issues warning about scam sites pretending to be the company’s official homepage

Sites offer deep discounts on Switch, but could be taking something else in return.

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How a bar in Kabukicho scammed one diner out of their money, and how it can happen to you too

Receipt shows the sneaky extra charges you need to watch out for. 

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Hey, online knockoff seller, is this a Puma tracksuit, or something else?【Photos】

We ask, and sort of get answers to, the questions this “super cool” tracksuit begs.

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The time we (almost certainly) got scammed by a dating app in Tokyo’s bar district

“Hey, let’s play a game,” she said, but maybe it was our reporter who got played.

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Woman says she’s a foreign student struggling in the pandemic, asks us to buy her homemade chocolate

Sweets we bought on the street turn out to be suspiciously delicious.

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People in Japan can now earn 10,000-yen bounties for scamming scammers

Turning the tables on the ore ore scam in Nagoya can leave you richer than you were before the attempted fraud.

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Our reporter’s faith in the Google gods is shaken by a dubious online purchase of a luxury watch

Is Google a god, or is it just as fallible as man?

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“Donald Trump” fraudster accused of scamming confused citizens in Japanese phone scam

If Donald Trump called you on the phone asking for cash in broken Japanese, would you give him a single yen?

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Foreigner convenience store clerk in Japan saves elderly woman from scammers with quick thinking

Refuses to give up when senior doesn’t realize she’s being taken advantage of.

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Oita woman loses lawsuit and pays damages without ever knowing she’d been sued

A frightening case of using the legal system to commit robbery.

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Nintendo Switch UFO catcher scam comes with extremely lame excuse【Video】

Twisted logic for special prize sign leads to a visit from the cops.

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Family cheated out of 54 million yen by man impersonating Japanese rock star for three years

Suspect also convinced his own mother he was the Dir En Grey frontman for 10 years.

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Mr. Sato gets a friend request from Yusaku Maezawa again, this time spells own name right

Second time’s the charm!

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We get a surprise offer from “Yusaku Maezawaa,” with an extra “a” for “a whole lot of money”

But don’t worry it’s “not in a real scam.”

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