The Nintendo Switch has definitely grown in popularity due to the coronavirus sweeping our nation and forcing people to stay at home. People were looking for something to keep them entertained, so they bought the Nintendo Switch making it sold out everywhere back in April. Because of this, scammers saw this as an opportunity to create fake stores and claimed that they sold the Nintendo Switch for an elevated price. Victims fell for the scam and purchased the Nintendo Switch, but never received it and had their money stolen instead. Since the Nintendo Switch will probably sell out this Black Friday too, here is the Nintendo Switch scam to watch out for.

The Nintendo Switch Scam During the Coronavirus

Scammers pretend to have online stores that sell the sold-out Nintendo Switch, and offer it at a lower price than the official retail stores. For example, there have been many customers that have complained about one supposed online store called Komon Mart. The reviews from these customers have stated that they found the Nintendo Switch on this site for $151, even though the market price for this is around $299. There have also been report of customers’ cards getting denied when they try to purchase from this site, and there some of these customers have even reported random charges being made onto their card.

There have been other websites from GoDaddy that have pretended to be online retailers selling Nintendo Switch’s. Beware of the names of stores that sound funky, such as Lasagne World, Yas 2020, Puppy Store, or Cotton Blankets.

These websites will not actually deliver you a Nintendo Switch! Their only purpose for existing is to steal your personal and financial information then keep it for themselves. They can then drain your bank account on top of committing identity fraud using your information.

Will Black Friday Bring Back the Nintendo Switch Scam?

With the amount of phishing websites and apps that surfaced during last year’s Black Friday, there is no doubt that something like this could happen again. The Nintendo Switch still has the potential of becoming sold out during Black Friday, especially since we are still in a pandemic that requires us to social distance and stay at home. Because of this, many people are wanting to find this popular gaming console in their stockings this Christmas.

If the Nintendo Switch sells out from major retail stores again, then there is a possibility that there will be a rise of fake websites selling this popular gaming console. Because of this, it is always important to make sure you are buying it from a legit website. Best Buy, Amazon, GameStop, Walmart, and Target should be the only stores to trust when purchasing the Nintendo Switch. However, scammers can mimic these websites, which is why it’s important to make sure the URL is spelt correctly too.

How to Avoid the Nintendo Switch Scam

• Don’t purchase your Nintendo Switch from any unfamiliar website. Stick to well-known websites to purchase your Nintendo Switch, such as Best Buy, Amazon, Target, GameStop, or Walmart. If these stores are sold out, request that they notify you as soon as they land back on shelves.
• Do your research on the online store you intend to purchase your Nintendo Switch from. If you just so happen to find a legit-looking website that sells the Nintendo Switch, take a step back and don’t assume that it’s real right away. Do your research and read reviews from other people before purchasing that product.
• Avoid giving out any unnecessary personal information. If a website is asking for your social security number before allowing you to make the purchase, assume that its a fraudulent website.
• Don’t purchase your Nintendo Switch via wire transfers or gift cards not related to that site. Obviously, if you have a Best Buy gift card and you’re on the Best Buy website making a purchase, then using that gift card is fine. However, if you’re on an online store’s website that is requesting an iTunes gift card as a form of payment, then that’s when you should be concerned. Also, wire transfers are suspicious too. This is because both of these forms of payment are non-traceable, making it almost impossible for the victim to get their money back.

Social Catfish is Here to Help You!

At Social Catfish, we want to help you verify the identities of those who might seem suspicious to you. If you have their name, email address, phone number, social media username, or image, you can reverse search and see who the suspected person was that you’ve been in contact with if you think you’ve been a victim of the Nintendo Switch scam.

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