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scams

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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Akihabara’s shady art salespeople surprisingly adhere to state of emergency guidelines

Eulien: Covenant

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Saucy invite from lonely woman/online scammer has Mr. Sato filled with desire to do one thing

When a stranger sends him a friend request, our reporter sees the opportunity to relieve his explosive, pent-up emotion.

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Heroic Japanese convenience store owner saves foreigner from online scam artist

Foreign teen’s unusual behavior tips off quick-thinking 7-Eleven owner.

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Our reporter ran into one of Tokyo’s pushy flag-selling foreigners

A tap on the shoulder leads to a flag in the hand and a request to pay for it.

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Foreign travelers in Tokyo, other towns handing out flags, asking Japanese people to pay for them

Sellers often claim to be deaf and ask for random Japanese people to “sponsor” their travel expenses.

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How much private info can a thief glean from a stolen smart phone? We investigate

Our resident scam investigator turns criminal to see how much information he can steal from a stranger’s smart phone.

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