When EVIL Pokémon Card Scammers Get EXPOSED On Camera!

Buying your dream Pokemon card is supposed to be an exciting moment, but sometimes what looks like the perfect deal is actually a scam. From stolen cards and $1000 fakes, to deals that escalated into complete chaos, these are times that evil Pokemon card scammers got exposed on camera. Starting us off is this collector who was tipped off about a Pokemon shop that allegedly only sold fake cards. So he decided to investigate and what he found was genuinely insane, because once he disguised himself and entered the shop, he found hundreds of fake boxes. Oh my goodness me, they've got the brand new goods right here. We've got Silver Tempest, that's definitely Silver Tempest artwork. It's definitely not the Aerodactyl alternate art with a thing that's a photoshopped Pikachu on the front. Then we've got Silver Tempest with, I mean they've got the Lugia on there, but where are these like arts coming from? Deviant Art? Oh they've like, this is the artwork on a couple of the promo cards and all that. Got the big boy, the Astral Radiance tin. So this is made by Nintendo, more than Pokemon itself. What do you reckon? Is this the one we're going to take home for today? Oh yep, this is definitely it. But although they were clearly fake, he couldn't resist taking them home to investigate further. And that's when he realized the full scale of this operation, because the boxes didn't just contain resealed packs, but completely fake cards as well. These are like the metal cards, but they're not metal, they're like just weird, oh gosh, weird like cardboard? This is nuts. They're not like, it's not paper, but it's not cardboard, somewhere in the middle. Oh yeah, I've seen these everywhere. Look at the HP! It's all blurry. You've got to give respect, because they somehow print everything so blurry on every single fake Pokemon card. Oh no way, we've got the golden, with 31,000 HP up there. It is a custom made Shining Charizard GX with 25,000 HP. And without our burning shadows, bad boy. I like that he's Rainbow Rand, but they still stuck with the gold theme. Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, VMAX, let's, oh, whoa, cosplay Lucario Pikachu. But while these boxes were clearly fake, some scammers put a lot more work into their forgeries. Just like this next scammer, who had made a fake box so well that the buyer almost fell for it. So I was making you get rid of it, just a little bit of damage. Sheesh. He has like a little storefront inside of it. Okay. All good, man. What was your name? William. William? It's nice meeting you, man. Yeah. You know it's fake, right? But unfortunately for him, his scheme was never going to work. Since just a few days earlier, he had tried to sell this exact same box to another buyer, who coincidentally knew this collector and warned him about it. Oh, this is a fake box. Man, why do you sell so many fakes? Nah. Got a fake box. You're the only one that, uh. Nah. I talked to another homie. I went to go see it. Made him wait 40 extra minutes. From yesterday? Yeah, he was ready. The line's resealed. Not even a good thing to do. But while this scheme was shut down before any money changed hands, this next scam had already gone through, and it took some real detective work to fix. Because while this next deal looked completely clean at first, it turns out that the slabs themselves had a much darker history. What do you want for this one? Do you want 32? Nah, that's where the last sale was around. Then you can make an offer. Make an offer? 26.50 would be my offer on that. 27. So I'm thinking if I ever want to pay. Just give me 26.80. 26.50. What's your offer on this? I don't want that. You want this? 26.50. 26.50? Yeah. Here you go, bro. I appreciate it. You're gonna keep the Me Too? I'm not giving it to you. Nah, you're just putting it in case. Nah, you're good, bro. You know, camera on. Yeah. On recording. Don't sell that Me Too. That Vending Sirius. He stole it. Oh, he did? He's like a known thief. Knowing that the slaps could've been stolen, these two vendors did the only thing they could and immediately tracked down the seller to get their money back. They're calling staff right now. Where's he at? He's like over there. So should I go get my money back or what? We're waiting for staff to go and then we'll get our money back. I bought this from him. I bought this. Oh, you sold that? Yeah. Isn't that the guy that was doing the weird coin flip? Yes. Oh my god, bro. We're not gonna let him leave though, right? So come with me. And although this scammer almost managed to escape with a small fortune, these next ones weren't so lucky. Because while trying to pass off fake cards as the real deal, their acting skills were just as bad as their plans. Since when this vendor asked them if they knew the cards were fake, they could barely deny it. In the end, this vendor, who clearly had a heart of gold, explained how to identify a fake and let them go, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, so... I would put about 30, I would say. However, once this video was posted, a creator named FloodsUsurf claimed that this exact duo had tried to sell him the Dragonite 2, along with their entire binder of fakes, for 50% of market value. And just like them, this next scammer would see his scam completely fall apart right in front of his mother, because he thought he was going to trade up this Gengar for some better cards. But right at the start of the trade, the vendor noticed something that would cause the entire deal to fall apart. Can I take a look at this new card right here? Yes. Do y'all do trades? Yeah. I got two cards in there, and I got two slimes. Do you buy this? Can I buy that? Yeah. I think I traded for it. I think it's fake, bro. Fake? Yeah. Because it has a headshot. Yeah, it's fake. You can tell by the back. But what threw me off was because this part right here is so, like the color is so crazy. Because that's a $400 card. So it's not like we're talking about like a $300 card, but that's awful. Do you remember who you got it from? Or no? I remember the name. What threw me off is the edge. Like this is like way too white. And although the kid claims he traded for the card, the look on his mother's face definitely says otherwise. And while having your mom standing right there when you get caught is already rough, telling the entire internet about your scamming operation is way worse. And that's what happened to this random vendor who walked up to another vendor's booth with this one very suspicious question. Do you guys want to try and guess the fake Pokemon and win a free card? Yeah. Fake card? One of them is fake. Three of them are real. Some pristine fake? And without realizing he was on camera, he kept talking. Wow. That's how good they are? Are you kidding me? How do you mind me? That's crazy. Even with his face blurred, some regular customers identified him. And he basically lost all of his credibility. However, this isn't the dumbest scammer on the list. Because this next scammer clearly doesn't realize that there are actual sentient human beings watching his scam unfold. Alright, let's continue. And as anyone watching could see, that pack had a Charizard SIR. But once the seller notices the hit, he immediately takes everything off screen like there wasn't hundreds of people watching it. But after the community mass reported him, eventually he was banned from whatnot forever. But while some scammers try to steal from you on camera, the most successful scams happen behind the curtains. Because there has been a huge increase in fake boxes online. And as we are about to see, not even factory sealed cases are safe anymore. Just like this next collector that would realize a little too late. Japanese boxes are very clear and the wrap is very loose. You can see here with this pitch black box. Super clear, loose wrap. This thing is extremely tight. Guys, gotta be careful. Sealed cases are not safe. These scammer moments have been insane so far. But make sure to stay all the way until the number one spot because they only get crazier from here. One thing I absolutely hate about mystery packs is pulling a card I don't even want and basically just being stuck with it. But with Slab Dynasty, every pack on their site contains a real graded card. And after you open it, you can either have the slab shipped to your house, list it on their marketplace, or instantly sell it back for 92% of its value. And when I tested out a pack on the site, I ended up pulling this $234 Starmie out of a $200 pack. Thank you to Slab Dynasty for sponsoring this video. And if you want to try it out for yourself, use code GTCD to get 20% off your first pack. And up next, while opening up packs live, this streamer was about to realize that he had been scammed in the worst way possible. So he decides to compare this box to another one he had bought. And that's when he realizes something else. Sadly, this streamer never got his money back. But after doing some digging, I'm pretty sure we know where these boxes come from. Since recently, Japan has seen a huge increase in fake and resealed Pokemon products being sold both online and right in the middle of Osaka's streets. Where a Vietnamese group was allegedly selling fake Pokemon cards. And when this YouTuber pointed them out, the scammer became aggressive and left right after. And with these scammers spreading across Japan at lightning speed, customers are already predicting a price increase. However, buying in the US isn't necessarily a better idea. Especially when there are scammers using kids to do the dirty work for them. Just like this kid, who approached these vendors hoping to sell a first edition fossil pack. However, the vendor thought the deal looked suspicious and declined the offer. But then, just a few minutes later, the kid came back with a different pack. After a little digging, he found out that this kid was also selling boxes to other vendors for way below market price. And as more vendors came together to check the boxes, they realized that everything had been resealed. And although the mastermind behind the scam was never found, the same can't be said for this next scammer. Because after this group of collectors realized they had been scammed, they decided to schedule a meeting with the scammer under the excuse of making another trade. However, when they got to the meeting, they placed the fake card right in front of him and confronted him right there. This one was green, and now we have a red one. This one was green. And now he's selling a red one, bro. After being exposed, he tried to blame another vendor. But unlucky for him, they knew the vendor in question. They then called him up right in front of the scammer and confirmed that he was lying. No, no, you're a liar. But while this scammer was simply exposed, this next one would end up in prison. Because back in 2020, a man spent $57,789 on a single Pokemon card. But the money he used to buy it wasn't actually his. His name was Vin Arthur Dumbside, a 31-year-old man from Georgia. And when COVID hit, he applied for an $85,000 government relief loan, claiming that he owned an entertainment business with 10 employees and more than $235K in annual revenue. However, it was all a lie. And when the government found out, they discovered that he had already spent the money on a Gem Mint 1st edition Charizard. In the end, he lost the Charizard, was sentenced to 3 years in prison, and ordered to pay the full $85,000 back. However, unlike that one, we don't even know what happened to the next scammer on the list. Since the Pokemon company kept everything about the incident away from the public. Because this scam happened inside of one of their card production facilities. And everyone had their eyes on it when a photo showing thousands of Fusion Strike hits went viral. At the time, the set had just come out. And collectors immediately knew it was theft due to Fusion Strike's notoriously bad pull rates. And the community accused someone working inside of the facility of stealing the cards. Now this theory would eventually prove to be true. But as the cards and the scammer were tracked down, Pokemon was quick to make everything regarding the incident disappear. But even after all of that, it does not compare to our number 1 scam on the list. Because this last scammer managed to do the impossible and disappeared with over $400,000. And nobody realized it at the time, but this was his master plan all along. At first, he opened a small card shop in Taiwan. And for years, he built a great reputation that attracted more than 15,000 regular customers. Things were looking great for business. But he knew that they could get even better. And once the 30th anniversary set was announced, he made his move. He began selling boxes of the set before it was even in production. And as people didn't want to miss out on a limited number of pre-ordered boxes available, his sales reached a new high. And at the end of that day, he fled the country with almost half a million dollars. Making this one of the craziest scams that still goes unresolved to this day. Check out this video on screen next to see even crazier scammer moments. Trust me, these are insane.