When it comes down to Nintendo IPs, few come close to the popularity ofPokemon. While the games have enjoyed success since the very beginning, thePokemonfranchise has found success through various television anime, movies, and other merchandise.Pokemonhas been a household name for almost a quarter of a century. Second to thePokemonvideo games, the trading card game serves as one ofPokemon’smost popular gateways into the franchise.
ThePokemonTCG is also its most lucrative. It is not at all uncommon to hear stories aboutPokemonplayers selling their cards for large amounts of profit. For one fan, the net value was enough topay their way through medical school. Unfortunately, every lucrative outlet isn’t complete without scammers who commit fraud for the chance at making a quick and easy buck. While fraudulence involving trading cards is nothing new, this may be one of its most peculiar examples in recent history.
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Starting in June 2020, there was a promotion in Japan by ice cream company Garigari-kun to promote the latestPokemonmovie,Secrets of the Jungle.For the price of approximately $3 per ice cream,Pokemonfans who bought specially marked packages of the ice cream had a chance to win a lottery via a popsicle. The winning popsicle, identified with the phrase “You win a Gari-Pokémon card"engraved, could then be mailed for an exclusive Zarude V promotional Pokemon card.
The Zarude V Pokemon card was by no means as valuable as the $200,000Gem Mint-graded Charizard cardsold on auction recently, but the method upon winning the Zarude V card is leagues easier to manipulate. All one needs to do to earn this $400+ card is to turn in a single popsicle stick after all. The popsicle stick didn’t have to be from the ice cream source or so one particular scammer assumed.
In November last year, Takashi Ono, 43, forged 25 winning sticks and mailed them to the company,Akagi Nyugyo Co.,in hopes of receiving 25 rare Zarude V cards. What he got instead was a warrant out for his arrest following the tip-off from the ice cream company on suspected fraud.
The company has long since warned consumers about purchasing winning sticks online due to the possibility of the sticks being fraudulent. As the winning popsicle sticks arebeing sold on auctionfor 35,000 yen on average or $337 currently, fans who wish to own a rare promotional card must continue to be wary of scam artists such as Ono.
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