How Foreigners Get SCAMMED in Japan
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
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Are you surprised by any of these scams? What kinds of scams are common in your country?
As an American can I go to Japan today? I thought Japan is closed for visitors.
@@keemysoodreamy23 where was it ever said that the trip would be this week? Things will calm and travel will resume.
this is one of the scams right? cuz no forigner can enter japan right now
Entry is possible only for legal residents of the 50 United States (and D.C.), excluding Rhode Island unfortunately :(
OMG! That Monk Scam happens here in the USA!! In fact one of those scammers tried to get me, and I just returned it to them saying I didn't want their charm, and was NOT going to pay for it!
Happened when I was visiting San Francisco!!
Scammer: “I’m a broke college student”
Me :“ really!!? me too!!! We should hang out”
im always one step ahead of the game by being too broke to travel to japan in the first place
What happened after?
@@gaolizhang197 hang out in the police station
💯😆
pimp music
The one about donations, I actually almost fell here in BRAZIL, yes. It was a person from Thailand and I was convinced, but I had no money at the time.
Wow!! I'm so surprise to hear it happen in Brazil too! I guess it works very well anywhere in the world!
Caraca doidão, nunca ouvi falar desse estilo aqui, mas por telefone é locura, o tempo todo
Indeed. This donations scam happen quite a lot here in my region in Brazil. I don’t know if happen in everywhere because It is a big country. But here where I live it is quite common, but not in the same way that is showed in the video. The scamers use to call you and tell a sad history about someone needing help
I think I I also got donation scammed in Rome, Italy. But it was a local. I wish them well and hope the money will help somebody, though it may start off as disingenuous
The donation scam is also common in the U.S. I see it all the time in Chicago and also ran into it in Georgia and the airport in New York.
I was harassed and scammed by a 'monk' in Asakusa. I knew he wasn't a real monk and refused to give him anything but he became quite aggressive and I was alone. In the end, I gave him some money in the hope he would leave but he just became more angry and demanding saying it wasn't enough money. I escaped into an umbrella shop and stayed there until he had moved on. I must say though it only happened once and the rest of my trip and subsequent trips have been trouble-free.
Oh yes! Some people say the scammer ask for more money if you don't give enough!! So scary!! I'm glad you are safe!!!!
Same happened to me, but then I told him "I am from Poland, a poor poor country, how about giving me some money?:D "
We have those "monks" in Germany, too, going after the people to donate €10 or so.
Yeah, got the whole monk/bead scam. Only had 1k yen on hand as I was about to draw some money out. Best practice is just keep hands in pockets so they don't sneakily put the beads and their hands on yours to get a "donation" from you. They also used the ledger tactic too. Scam on a scam.
These "Monks" are in America as well. One of those "Monks" tried to pull that scam on me in San Francisco. I just returned it and kept saying I didn't want it.
This scam seems to be rather uniquely International, where you can find these scammers all over.
Pro tip. Nobody ever approaches you without a reason. There’s a lot of nice people everywhere…. And I’m sure if you asked for help they would do it freely… myself included… But most people don’t come out of the blue to help a stranger unless they want something. Keep walking and dont give them the time of day.
Another pro tip. Don't give money to anyone who approaches you. People who need help usually won't ask foreigners. If you really think they need help find out what they need the money for and buy it for them. For example a train ticket or a meal.
I know that is a realistic way of thinking but it also makes me a bit sad. When me and my SO were in Japan we were helped by many strangers, all of them were old people. They came up to us and really wanted to help, even with the language barrier. Those moments are among my favourite moments of that Japan trip 💜
When I lived in Japan, I did get helped by quite a few strangers and made some good friends that way. I think that it is important to be careful about strangers approaching you, but it isn’t true that no-one would help someone out of the blue.
When I first got to Japan, I got overwhelmed and lost many times, so sometimes if I saw a foreign tourist looking lost, I would ask if they needed help. I understand that you need to be wary, but not all people offering help want something in return.
@@stimpsonjcat26 well i meant im very sure most foreigners would ignore their help due to robbing ideology which overpowers the truth.
one scam i can mention. it literally happened to me yesterday in osaka. with taxi drivers. its very expensive anyway getting taxi, but here its based on time, not distance. i got a really old driver, i only spoke japanese to him and gave him directions. he drove like slowest ever, then started to drive off trying to make it all much longer. it was seriously scary and very frustrating. even though i gave him precise instructions in japanese, he seemed to recognise i was a foreigner and tried to take advantage of that. not all taxi drivers are like this, but it definately does happen
A similar thing happened to me in Japan. I caught a taxi from the airport after returning to Japan from a Christmas break back home. I knew the taxi driver was taking a much longer route home to my apartment than necessary, but I didn't say anything to him. I've had a few scam experiences in Japan directed towards foreigners, but Japan is still a far safer place to live!
@smxkfjfkd flfkfktfkgkg i am not sure if you live here. but afaik, easiest way taxi driver make more money from you is by driving extremely slowly and taking longest route possible. here since covid even less people are catching taxi. so i can understand taxi driver if he get you in the car want to make as much money as he can from you
That's horrible. I've seen drivers take a roundabout route, but only because the area was full of one-way streets.
Yeah I wasn't in Japan I was in Bulgaria but it's a common thing. The taxi driver we had was saying some really suspicious things "Very far" he kept saying it again and again and he was starting to drive us in a really desolate part of the resort. I was petrified and it was only until I had said that we were going the wrong way he actually listened and turned around.
But if I never opened my mouth who knows how far he could have taken us. He could have taken us out of the resort completely and to some shady area.
Also you can actually negotiate with Bulgarian Taxis they will usually try to over charge but you can negotiate it to the point they say okay because they have to they are still making more money then they would anyway even with the price down.
Also what a coincidence I haven't been on holiday since that and I am going tomorrow XD
Ive had a taxi driver scam me in america, had his meter covered that reads the price because "he was forced to take a longer route then normal and didnt want to over charge me" proceeded to charge me a ridiculous amount that I didnt even have. I gave him 20 dollars instead of the 180 he was asking for and dared him to call the cops while he was attempting a scam.
I think the best thing to do would be to point at them and yell out "SCAMMER!!! SCAMMER!!!" over and over till they leave from embarrassment.
They will likely shout louder and even more dangerous stuff like "thief!". These people already have no dignity so not afraid to drag you into the mud to stay clean.
under Japanese law you'd be liable for arrest for causing a public disturbance and for libel if you did that.
The scammer might lose an opportunity for a few hours until he moves to a different area, you'd be in jail for several weeks if not longer.
I dont think thats a good idea in any country.... Either youre going to get arrested, stabbed, or just completely ignored.
I was literally just thinking about looking up what scams are common in Japan. I ran into the Monk scam in Chicago. It worked exactly the same way.
Ohhh!! It's worldwide scam!!!
I ran into the monk scam too, but it was in NYC. Pretty wild lol
I also had an ecounter with the monk scam at a college in Illinois. He handed me a book that explained his religion and demanded that I "donated". I still have the book because I did not know what to do with it.
@@Samantha14916 Same thing in college in Tennessee. I don't remember if I actually donated anything, but if I did it was probably the smallest amount I could give so they would leave me alone. Immediately threw out the books though lol
Ran into it in germany
they were 'collecting donations to build a buddhist temple'
They even had some fake flyers and spoke only broken german and english of course.
So indeed, a worldwide scam.
When travelling, it's always good to know the local scams. As Japan is my next country to visit, this video comes in handy. When I visited Paris, I kept getting hit by the 'trapped in this country' scam, where people would approach strangers and ask for donations because they were trapped in the country with no way home as they 'lost' all their money. I was approached by about three people in the first day I was there and they all had the same book with the 'help me' message written in as many languages as they could think of.
Oh so interesting!! I didn't see this scam in Japan but maybe its next level of scam!! Actually Mr. Eats didn't show in this video, but new scam is "I am student but cant pay my rent because of covid" so they sell small candy for 500 yen. But if you only have 1000 yen bill, they say they don't have change so ask you to buy 2 bags. But candy inside is very cheap, low cost candy so they can make a lot of profit!
Or deaf/mute people ask for donations in Paris ) they have notepad, so you sing it and give them money.
Or other thing is Paris. We walked with my lady and somebody will give you rose and then ask for money )) I think they do it to couples on purpose.
PS. All this happend about 3 years ago.
@@MrsEats In America the people who sell overpriced candies and cookies are called Girl Scouts and we expect them every year and keep buying their cookies.
@@stiimuli hahaha
In the Netherlands you can pay for most stuff with your card, so even if someone walks up to me I tell them I never carry cash, well sometimes I do, but that's for paid toilets that for some reason don't accept card..
Since NFC payment is getting common I even barely have my card with me since my phone works for payment
The monk scam almost happened to me. I was in Asakusa with my friends waiting for the lights to turn green at a crossing. Monk walks up to me and tries to give me the charm. I refused and didn't take it. However I did have my phone out(probably for maps, don't remember) and he put the charm on top of my phone. I wasn't sure what to do so I just tipped the phone and the charm fell to the ground. Luckily the lights have changed so I just run away lol. I thought for long time that I was disrespectful but it looks like I avoided a scam so 🤷
Good job 👍
nah the disrespectful one is him since he didnt leave you alone
Just sucker punch em'
Yeah if anybody is continuously being pushy after you clearly expressed wanting to be left alone, or not interested in what they are trying to give you/convince you to do it best to err on the side of caution and just disengage.
I'm surprised the authorities aren't out arresting these kinds of people who are obviously just preying on tourists and giving Japan a bad name.
The work thing changed a while back, if I recall correctly. If you work more than 20 hours you’re allowed to request Shakai hoken. I know a company that recognized this and promptly limited part timers to 19.5 hours after this law passed.
I see!! So even though the rule changed, company adapt! Scammer evolution!!
That happens in the U.S. too. My wife wasn't allowed to work more than 20 hrs because mandatory benefits kick in at 20+.
When someone trys to scam me in japan , I just pull out my tattos and they immediately dip. Its like threatening violence without actually doing it.
That’s a good use for tattoos in Japan!
@@al_2662 😂😂😂 how do you say " now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The choice is yours" in Japanese
I'm a girl. Would that still work if I showed the tattoos on my arm? It really sound like a good strategy to avoid scammers and perverts, but I don't think they would be scared of me even if I showed my tattoos. Wish I could pull that off, lmao.
@@lauragoreni3020 not gonna work, you need a different strategy. For pervs there are pepper spray and tasers, but for scammers it is best to use the brain. A little bit of paranoia wont harm either
@@lauragoreni3020 Unfortunately if you’re a woman, the best way to avoid the pervs is to be overweight.
I am not Japanese but I went to a Japanese Highschool in Tokyo.
One day I was stupidly crossing kabukicho in my school uniform on my own because it was a shortcut to a meetup with friends and some hosts there thought I was a foreign tourist in a costume. One of them took my hand and tried to take me into their establishment, just like it is described here. They spoke fairly good English too. I just rooted myself to the spot like a stubborn toddler and told them in Japanese that I don’t speak English and they better let me go. I wasn’t sure who was more surprised by the whole ordeal. They or me. lol
lol
I think I was (almost) scammed. A guy on the street ushered me into a shady bar in Tokyo (the red light district, can't remember the name) while I was out drinking. They brought me a drink without my asking, but thankfully I felt uncomfortable and refused the drink, adamantly stating I wanted to leave and was shown out.
The charity scam happens in the US too. Was in a Walmart one time and a Thai woman walked up to me and showed me a picture of a starving child and said "you have money to buy a movie? Then you can pay for this child's life saving medication!"
I asked the store manager if there was some kinda fund raising going on in the store and they said no and escorted her out of the building.
To provide a different story, I accidentally left my passport and train pass in a folder on the Shinkansen. I immediately realized my error leaving the station and explained my problem to the staff. Miraculously, the lost and found told me they already had it and it would be available to me at the next station. Good Samaritans and efficient systems to the rescue!
The drugged drink scam is 100% real. Mostly happens in Roppongi targeting solo male tourists.
Never ever follow a tout to a bar in Roppongi. Especially if they are non-Japanese.
I just smoked a ton of weed and read that last sentence as "Never follow a trout into a bar" and got a crazy picture in my head.
Nigerians …
@@MyPhobo lmao
@@kingsking2816 no, it's probably your dad.
@@Silver_o my dads not Nigerian…
The idea that an establishment might drug me and rob me is a problem i never thought i would consider in any country.
I've never been scammed in Japan, it was the safest trip that i made in my life with South Korea.
Of course, a bit of knowledge of the language and the culture is a quite good shield, wherever you go around the world.
knowledge, my favorite weapon
Mr. Eats said he only had one scam happen to him!! It was charity scam but he didn't give money. But I think you are right! It's not so common to see the scam but scammer is out there!!
I was there 30 years ago and I don't recall seeing any scams and back then there were incredibly few foreigners. I do remember that pizza was ridiculously expensive even then and it looked so unappetizing.
That train station assistant popping his head out of a hatch to help with the machine is hilarious, cute and so uniquely Japanese. Good luck getting station staff to leave their post/chair in western countries though, they won't come to you, you have to come to them.
Trust no one, help no one. Don't give out money.
Before anyone gets second thoughts about visiting Japan, these scams happen in most popular cities all over the world. NYC native, and I have first hand experience with all of these scams except the teacher one, I've never fallen for any of them, but we have all of these scams here too. Always keep these in mind when you travel, but don't let them scare you from going somewhere you want to.
Yep, best you can do is look at a few videos on common scams, remember experiences with the ones near you, and just be cautious. I set aside a small amount of money which is my 'scam/hobo money' on trips or conventions just in case their scam is well done and amuses me enough to pay them for their acting skill.
I still cannot leave my things unattended in public places, even in a place as safe as Japan. The habit has just been ingrained in me
01:14 I love that guy who lives in the wall and pops out to help people!
This channels content is fantastic and so is the editing I don't understand how you don't have more subscribers already. This is quality comedy and Info all the time.
My friends and I got caught by a scam where a bar in Kabukicho brought us a really good sake. Because there were 5 in my group I just assumed someone else in the group bought it. Of course nobody had ordered it and before we could even question it the cute waitresses disappeared and a very big black man came out, yelling at us and demanding that we pay or he'll call the police. Knowing how the police can treat tourists we just had to pay. I think it was like $100 on top of the stuff we actually ordered.
Those are called bottakuri bars.
“A very big black man” triggered me for some reasons 😩😭
@@SNXO I misread that as "a very big man in black"
@@AnnaMorimoto honestly my brain froze when I read that lol 😭 “a very big black man”
@@SNXO MIB shows up. "Look at this pen, it'll all be fine in a moment..." 😎
I was scammed in Hiroshima near the bomb museum, it was years ago but the guys ask me to sign to support "Do not use nuclear bombs again", they request me 1000 Yen and show me how many people sign before me. Normal people with normal clothes with no credentials, only a notebook.😓 I was young and Google or CZcams didn't exist...
When I first clicked this video my thought was "they're mostly non Japanese". Then you said it yourself at 3:30. On the flip side Japanese will go out of their way to help you. My sister and her husband visited Japan and flew into Narita. At the airport he went into a restroom and left his coat in there with his passport and wallet with all his cash and credit cards. They were on a train to Tokyo before realizing that the coat was left at the airport. They returned to Narita to find it. As they walked into the terminal, an airport agent approached my brother in law and held up a photocopy image and asked, "Is this you". Someone found his coat and gave it to airport authorities. Airport agents took his passport photo and made copies and distributed them to look for the owner of the coat. "Only in Japan", my brother in law later said.
aww, how nice of that person! yup, only in japan D:
Sounds like he’s not mature enough to use the restroom on his own yet. Maybe when he grows up to be a big boy he can be trusted with important paperwork instead of depending on the kindness of strangers.
Thank you very much for your video and raising awareness. The scammers who use poverty to make a profit are the worst kind of scammers, exploiting poverty is such a despicable thing as it damages people who really need charities to survive
Yesss! The monk scam I've encountered. It was really scary because it was a very tall man and in the end I had to pull a 180 and run away.
The monk I saw didn't look so scary. Very smily guy! I think that is how he could do scam so well! But it's scary when someone suddenly come to you and start to do something you don't undertsand!!
how tall?
Charity scam is everywhere, I had the same experience when I was travelling in Italy, right near a big train station there was like a stand with like 5 girls, who looked like college students (perhaps they were), collecting for charity and acting all shade speaking in all languages just to get your attention and used the same tactic, showed you the pics, and the list of people who donated. I was naive back then and almost donated but I was there with my dad, who said not to do it, because he's been there before. Probably actually got scammed before someone told him about it lol.
Thank you these tipps, ( especially the one about english schools) are very helpful, please keep posting content for people that want to live and work in japan 👍✌️👋😁
loved this thank you for helping those who are not in japan, one day i want to travel to japan so this helps alot
I had known about some of these scams even before i came to Japan. This is probably because i came from a third world country.
The tinder scam, i once encountered this but not from tinder. I knew it was a scam but i played along. So i went to the Family mart and bought an Amazon card ( i had wanted an Amazon card for myself, so i bought it and topped it up into my Amazon account) then i sent the picture of the card with the receipt.
She asked me why she couldn't top up with that card. So i told her the truth that i used the card for my self. She was mad like hell and blocked me after 😂
.....wasn't a she.
Too funny 😂 Glad you didn’t fall for it
Totally thinking of that when that type of scam in the video showed up. Rather use it myself or sorry bought some robux
most of these scams, or close variations on them, exist around the world.
Nice scambait.
The first one is like something out of New York. I like how Mr Eats is getting more involved in the videos
To be fair, we have most of these in Germany too and I can't put enough emphasis on how much I hate them. You've got to be a very special type of Garbage if you're abusing the good will and kindness of people to squeeze some bucks out of them. Once had a guy approaching me on a supermarket parking lot asking for donation *subsciptions* for the disabled, claiming he was deaf. I saw him later walking around with headphones, blasting music. All of this made me adapt to the strict principle to not give donations to people on the street. If I wanna donate for a good cause I will look it up myself on the Internet.
The thing that just bothers me is that it always ruins my day when I have to be so strict to people on the street because I want to be kind, but since this is exactly what they're counting on I guess I'll get over feeling sorry for it sooner or later...
As a rule, I only help people if I can confirm their problem. Otherwise, what are you even doing? As a test question, say they are stranded and ask money for a train ticket, offer to give them a ride. If someone asks money for food, offer food instead. You'll find out soon enough they won't be interested.
Wir haben scams?
@@shini64m14Kommt vielleicht etwas spät, aber ja tatsächlich. Nur finden wir als deutsche diese meist schwieriger zu erkennen, weil diese Leute uns niemals ansprechen würden/wollen. Aber in den Großstädten ist das ganz normal..
Not in Japan, but: This pledge scam happened to me twice. It’s exactly like he described. Sometimes people hand you a rose (or other pretty items) so that you feel pressured to donate in return.
I heard about an Australian ex-pat 30 years ago who was cheated by the English school scam. It was not what was promised. When he threatened to leave Japan, the scammer threatened to have him arrested for breach of contract. He relented and spent the next several months teaching the students English.......Elizabethan English. Those students came out speaking a 400 year old English with a Japanese accent.
Lmao
5:10 Oh, so now "Wendy's First Kitchen" becomes an official way to say the F word.
yes in Japan we call it Fa - Kkin. Fa is Fasuto (first) Kkin is kichin (kitchen). So its always safe to say Fakkin in Japan!!
This is so helpful! Thank you!
Thanks for the infos ! I am surprised that these things happen in Japan!
That’s my number 1 rule when talking to girls online. As soon as they need money, you run away. It’s okay to talk about it but as soon as someone ask for some money, they are scamming you
I had met a girl for a date and she suggested we go to "her friend's restaurant". When I asked her what she wanted to drink she asked for a bottle of bubbly. I said "let's just get a glass" as the bottle was very expensive. She tried to make me feel bad by saying I was cheap and showed herself to be a bad person. I left. That was in Kinshicho.
Thanks man, that was really helpful.
Thank you. This video is so helpful.
@3:07 That's pretty common in Germany with the gypsies soliciting people to donate to the "deaf school". The forms that they used had lot of bad German and English, and the gypsies were very persistent.
We went to this small sushi restaurant in Tsukiji.
We are heavy eater, and in big group 15 people. We ordered lots of stuff and expensive stuff. All the Otoro and the best they have.
However, they bring us like half Chu toro. We finished it, but asked if they have better ones. And they were saying "meiyo meiyo" in Chinese meaning "dont have" I think. We are not Chinese...
We said meh it's ok lets go to other place. But when the bill came they charged us like 3 times the price of other place. The one we went to right after charged us one third and bring us the real Otoro.
So not only we got racial treatment, we got scammed big time. The shop is still there btw.
damn. name the shop and exact location so it can be avoided by future visitors
Isn't there an option to check the prices beforehand of ordering in japan?
Smells like a scam, no way it should be so much higher unless it's some fancy restaurant.
Great episode and excellent presentation looking forward to the next episode !
Hey Mr Eats (and Mrs Eats). Great video bud and very informative.
So what do the scammers do to you in the train ticket scam? “That’s when they strike” means what: they picked your pockets, steal your change, or what?!
Pressure you to give them the change!
@@MrsEats um... just say no
@@-TriP- Yeah it's insanely tame. Compare to being pushed and harassed on the street by African immigrants on the streets of Italy at simply saying no.
Love that joke about Wendy's persistently showing through your videos.
It's not a joke it's Japanese culture!!
@@MrsEats I know, however, in this particular video it was definitely an inuendo
That's when you see that " 龍が如く" [Ryu Ga Gotoku] games are well done because you have a substory in the 6th game about the prepaid card, a contact from you're phone ask you for some help and tell you to buy prepaid cards and take pictures of it but it's not him ! (You tell him to meet in person and then confront the scammers at the end).
Mr and Mrs Eats seem like the nicest people!
Another pretty obvious scam is the "art shop" one. Saw it mainly in Akihabara and Harajuku. Middle aged professional woman trying to lure you into a shop to buy very overpriced and probably not at all legitimate art prints. They can get pushy.
The charity scammers are all over Kawasaki station at nights. Really annoying.
I used to make a bit of a sport of warning tourists about the fake monks when I was out and about in Akihabara/Ueno/Harajuku as well. That was around the time that police were really cracking down on them, so they'd scurry away fast as well
One of my Japanese colleague told me that whenever someone knock your door 95% of the time is spam, or taking advantages of you . Hearing that I realized most of the time they do felt SKETCHY . Personally think that it happens more in urban area such as Tokyo
Quality content as usual!
During my two awesome trips to Japan I was very fortunate not to encounter any of these.
Mr. Eats is really great at presenting these things, btw.
This video was great and informative you told everyone a lot telling all would take too long i live in America and at the end of the video you got that right you’re belonging’s wouldn’t be there 99.9 percent of the time it’s sad that people do this cause it’s always the ones trying to help really that end up being stereotyped what a world we all live in
I find it interesting how people say "Japan is a safe country", while in reality, there is a lot of crime in Japan. It's just that it actually rarely ends with the police becoming involved.
For example, if you'd bring someone food in a German restaurant and it would be normal to get free food at entry, then there's actually a German law that would lawfully allow the guest to assume that the food was free, because no pricing was clearly announced prior to handing it over. In fact, most Germans would protest if you'd try to charge them for food, like shown in the restaurant scam. Even intensely over-priced products that aren't labeled as such would easily be considered "obvious attempt for scam" in Germany. The persons involved would most certainly lose their permit to conduct any kind of further business of that kind.
Most Japanese "social scams" depend on the scammed person not defending their (lawful) rights, simply going with the flow. (Being inconspicuous.)
Great video heading to Japan next month thank you Sir
appreciate these vids... keep it up
I ran into the monk scam on my first trip to Japan. I did not know about the scam, but trusted my gut that something was wrong. That aside, I did find lots of people to be helpful.
I was drugged at a bar in Japan, once. Luckily, I was with my friends and they were fine, and they helped me home. We never went back to the bar.
Free drugs??? And you never went back?!? smh.
It was your friends.
@@700gsteak Not if the friends were also foreigners... How is a foreigner going to find drugs in Japan?
3:19 lmao i love how jotaro donated the least. really fits his character
This is great information to know
Finally somebody brought up the pizza scam. 😂
Please be wary of foreigners (especially Asian-looking) who speak acceptably good english offering goods or services. They are giving local Japanese a bad name. Some foreigners could not distinguish locals from other foreigners. Definitely not saying that other asians are bad but there are some notorious individual exceptions bringing petty crime to Japan. Most of them have been in Japan long enough and gained courage to make scams.
Yes there are other scam run by asian looking foreigner but they can use other place to scam people like LINE chat. These days, LINE is becoming convenient spot for scammer!!
@@ThailandTalks Hi, I'm Japanese travelling in Thailand what you're saying is true.
One easy way to tell non-Japanese Asians is simply by looking at their shoes. Foreign Asians will wear different brands and styles than Japanese.
@@MrsEats Not just LINE but on Twitter too: I’ve had several people follow me on Twitter with no tweets or followers and a bio that basically said they have big chests (usually g-cup) and are looking for love, expecting DMs. I can tell they are scammers and ignore them nor follow them back. I think they picked me because my own bio says I’m a foreigner trying to learn Japanese and am looking for JP friends.
I almost fell for another one where I was followed and contacted by someone pretending to be the official Hololive Events account, saying I was randomly picked for a contest where I could get cool vtuber merch or something. The site they linked to was about something completely unrelated and my AV software on my primary browser blocked it. They weren’t very helpful when I asked what was going on and there seemed to be a language barrier too. I showed the evidence to two of my JP twitter friends and they noticed it had to be a scam. The fake Hololive account closed DMs to me eventually as they failed to get their mark.
I have been to Japan twice myself, never had these experiences myself. Still it is good to stay vigilant :)
The Buddhist monk scam almost happened to me 15 years ago in Singapore - my husband knew what was going on right away & pulled me away before anything could happen. This “monk” was a indian guy in the Singapore airport wearing a orange robe. He also told us that his ride never showed up & he needed $$ for a cab,etc.
YES. I always wanted free tickets to Japan, that can't be entered during the pandemic for touristic reasons.
the tinder one, i had fun with them. when i said "oh you're scamming me, i'm gonna go to the police now" they start to call me and send to me creepy audio. was incredibly fun lol
Great video mr eats!
You are the best ⛩
Keep going 🎄🌸🌸
I had a Japanese lady (maybe 35 to 40 years old) approach me in Akihabara recently and she didn’t say much but handed me a card written in Japanese explaining her situation. Normally, I would immediately ignore someone on the streets but she was so shy and sad-looking and her voice was so quiet I could barely even hear her. The kanji was a little hard to read on the card she handed to me but I got that she was struggling and I noticed she had a large bag with candies inside. I assumed in an instant she was trying to sell me stuff for money without reading the very long card. Of course, she could have been really struggling and needing money but I, unfortunately, couldn’t risk it as a foreigner so I said sorry and walked away. I still think about her and what was really going on.
Just Mr.Eats and no Mrs.Eats? Now i feel scammed!
Just kidding of course, thanks for another great video
You found the real scam!
Great video thank you
Sounds very peaceful 👌
Best way to avoid the train ticket scam: get a suica / similar IC card and just avoid the hassle of the ticket machines all together :) I admit I might have been victim of the charity scam once but... oh well. Not to mad about it.
same my man, same
I really hope Japan opens up soon so i can go there. I turned 18 in March and this will be my first solo trip, or even foreign trip in general.
I'm a pretty careful guy but i think the trip might overwhelm me at first. Scammers probably know exactly how to spot that so this video prepares me a little. Stay safe guys🧡
There are almost no scammers so that won't be an issue. Just navigating Japan will be your challenge. Borders reopen Oct. 11th so enjoy!
Going with a tourist group mid next year myself. There is alot I would like to do and see, but I feel the first time it's best to be with a group that scheduled guides and activities. Taking Japanese at the moment in preparation. I wish you luck on your trip.
I was skeptical at first but this video is very on point.
Excellent video, ty
Thank you John!!
3:36 She does have a Filipino accent.
Right. And that charity scam is also pretty common in Metro Manila. Lol! Sometimes they use religious related tactics.
Yes! It's a total scam ---and then they put corn and mayo on it! 🍕
Yes!! But actually corn mayo sushi is pretty good!!
@@MrsEats You've been scammed... ;)
The person coming out of that small window. Lol
Mr. Eats is a really good presenter :)
Possible answer to those "stuck in _______" donation scams would directing them to where the embassies are located since that's one of the things they can help with (I think). "Sorry you're going through this. ______'s embassy may be able to help. good luck!"
I'm already anti-social enough I tolerate no unwanted social interaction that is not warranted!
lol I just watched this movie "weathering with you" and there was a train station announcement "please do give money to the beggars, they may or may not be truth tellers" of course the English subtitle
When in doubt, ask someone in a store or train station. They're incredibly helpful to tourists 👍
When I went to Japan I was carrying my luggage on the last day walking around shops in Akihabara looking at things for friends. And I noticed people were leaving small suitcases at the bottom of stair cases and walking off here and there. I took a huge risk and decided okay. I'll leave my things here instead of dragging them upstairs. Needless to say no one bothered my items and everything made it home. The trust you can have with your belongings in Japan is impressed
Well, it's definitely changing.
When I was a kid people didn't lock their bikes. But over the years that has changed. Stealing is more common now which is really sad. But compared to a lot of other countries not THAT bad.
your luggage comment could very well be written by a scammer 😊
I've gotta wonder how successful the school scam is. I've never in my life gone outside for a relaxing stroll, and just randomly thought, "you know, I'd like to buy a school RIGHT NOW"... seems a little obscure, lol
This is definitely the long con. Dude was literally working for her, likely for several months.
@@cattysplat I'm not sure I understand ...he was working for the victim?
@@feral_shade Probably getting free work from the teacher.
Seeing this video drop my intrest on going japan someday
Just be wary around non-Japanese people who approach you in public. That’s always good advice, anywhere in the world.
I love this cuz as someone from Los Angeles I’ve seen all of these by the time I was 17. I think I’m safe in Japan
I would simply speak my native language (spanish) if someone doesn’t want to leave me tf alone and being persistent. Confusion comes in and understanding never comes so if you speak a language other than english, use it to your advantage
I've never seen a charity scam on the streets of US. Those scams are usually ad on TV.
Where in the U'S do you live? These scams are not uncommon in the big cities. We get a lot of Santas collecting for fake charities around this time of the year.
they are very common here in sweden
Why scam in US when you can just rob anyone with a gun?
Man that guy coming out of the wall at 1:08 really had me laughing. When you press a "need assistance" button on the machine in my country, a microphone and speaker allows them to talk to you and help. In Japan they have a guy living in the wall. 🤣
I just love how CZcams showed me an ad for food delivery directly after the scam showcase
Not unique to Japan, but there are some questions most scammers will ask to size you up as a mark. I'm not saying all people who ask these questions are scammers, but they are asked for specific reasons. 1. Where are you from. This is asked to establish if you are from a rich or poor nation. Basically, how much money do you potentially have. 2. What do you do for a living. Again this is to further establish how much money you have. 3. How long are you here? This is to establish how long they have to execute their scam. 4. What sights do you plan to see? This is to establish a way to get more time with you to execute their scam. Perhaps they are going there also and will help guide you. It could be they are just very friendly.. but when you hear these questions you should at least be cautious in how you answer. Be safe everyone!
'Where are you from?" is also an attempt to keep you engaged and therefore not walking away. To prey on your decent-person politeness
If you say America, you may get "Oh really!? My sister lives in America. I love it there. Where in America?" (prolonging the engagement) and so on, and so on. (If instead you answer Canada/UK/Australia/etc, that's their new favourite place, too!)
'How long are you here' also helps to separate the people who have been there long enough to potentially know the scams, and have local friends and contacts, and most especially, have time to follow up on being scammed with the police, vs completely green tourists (the preferred targets) who have to be on a plane out of the country soon. (Above all, they don't want you to be in the country long enough to be able to seriously follow-up)
'Where were you planning to sightsee?' Followed by 'Oh wow! That's my favourite. I could show you the best part of (wherever).' Again, prolong engagement.
They need to escalate and draw you in gradually, so priority number one is to keep you engaged and not walking away.
@@GK-yi4xv This is also great insight into the mindset they are in and how to be better prepared.
I was walking out of Kabukicho at night when a Nigerian grabbed me and tried to drag me into a club. I got away but how unpleasant.
I had somebody try to lure me into a seedy situation. I was on a business trip during spring and my allergies were causing my nose to run. I blew my nose on the paper and guy trying to hand it to me. The look of shock was priceless.