How I almost got scammed for trying to buy a Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch Special Edition

Hello everyone,

I have to tell you this story, that just happened to me today. It's been a while since I have wanted to play a game as much, as the new Animal Crossing. I have spent a minimum of 100 hours playing the "Animal Crossing: New Leaf" back in 2013 on my 3DS and haven't owned a new game console since than.

Due to the pandemic and lock downs the price for the Nintendo Switch and also for the various Special Editions has exploded. Getting a cheap or regular priced Nintendo Switch is as impossible these days as buying a Bitcoin for less than a few thousand bucks. The demand is so high, that the production can't fullfill the high demand.

So, I've been on the lookout for a chance to get one for less than 500 USD. Specifically also checking auctions sites for used ones.
Today, I discovered an auction that sold the Animal Crossing Edition the Switch for around the retail price or even less. I have bought things from auction sites many times, so I checked the usual details of the seller – his reputation and the buyer experiences. Everything seemed legit and trustworthy, but still the offer seemed strange, because game consoles were not their usual product portfolio.

Well, I wanted the Switch bad enough, so I made the order. After ordering I coudn't find any payment methods – why would a seller make it hard to pay for a product? I send a message asking for further details. After half an hour I decided to request a cancelling, because my feelings was just bad. If they only offered bank transfer instead of paypal, than I would not have a chance to get my money back in case of a scam. It just wasn't worth the risk of loosing my money.

Plot-Twist – Just about 1 hour after I ordered the Switch and than cancelled it an unknown number called on my smartphone. I took the call and the seller introduced himself and told me to NOT pay the money for Switch. His account got hacked by scammers from another country and he is now calling everyone, who ordered a console, to warn them about it.

Apparently the scammers would send out e-mails to the buyers and ask them to pay within 12 hours. This explains why there where no payments details of the original owner of the account in that auction. I was more than relieved, that I would not loose any money, but also shocked, that even though the seller was legit, his account was used to steel peoples money!

I think after this experience the only save way to buy a Nintendo Switch is in person. With the high demand, the scams have been on the rise too. So, please be very careful! If the price seems to good to be true or there is anything fishy about an offer, you're better off passing on it.

I hope that the scammers will be caught and things like that won't happen to you! Anyway, thanks for reading this and have a nice day!

Hanakotoba