Apparently, a person in Tokyo listed a 2008 WCS Best 4 Prize card for sale that is an obvious fake on Yahoo. There are only 6 copies awarded and they are sealed in an acrylic case. This one is not sealed and everything about it looks off except the back which looks to be a real YGO card (rebacked).
The police brought the seller to the police station and in to questioning after listing an expensive fake card (listed for $3500 but legit copies are worth way more).
As Scott has said before, a striking difference between a scam and fraud is sometimes the value difference. Getting scammed in buying a 10$-100$ fake “custom” card usually does not have the police’s attention, and dealt through the buyer protection program of an auction’s website/a small-time police report.
When the numbers start hitting the thousands, this is when it will catch the police’s attention, and makes it worthwhile to chase after the suspects. This has been mentioned before, but sports collectibles had already people being arrested for fraud (Source: www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/rogers-pleads-guilty-fraud-charges-see-lengthy-prison-sentence/)). With Yugioh/Pokemon hitting much higher in value, frankly this is not a surprise.
Great find though! I’ve seen multiple listings of fake or suspicious WCS cards because they were not in the acrylic, now I can confirm it was the right intuition that I felt something fishy was going on.
Yu-Gi-Oh is pretty dangerous for fake cards, as alot of Chinese investors in Yu-Gi-Oh.
This really sucks though, I’m sure most people won’t even see this article, and it’s the risk you have to take in this hobby. Even with Pokemon cards.
Just remember the main points when buying.
High feedback reliable sellers, you can check the yja feedback, and translate the feedback if need be on Google translate.
If it’s too good to be true. It usually is.
Do your research, learn how to spot fakes, if it looks suspicious, it usually is.
Poor cut or cropped images, that looked photoshopped, are usually a deterrent.