‘Rare’ Pokémon ‘collectors cards’ sold across the US were fake, Oklahoma police say
A man is in custody after Oklahoma authorities uncovered a counterfeit scam involving Pokémon cards with victims across the U.S.
Over several months, the Tulsa Police Department was contacted by victims in multiple states who had attempted to buy “rare and high value Pokémon cards” from a seller in Tulsa but received fakes, the department said in a news release on Friday, Nov. 4.
Tulsa officers investigated and, with the help of the Nintendo Corporation, determined the Pokémon cards were counterfeit, the release said.
The scammer claimed to sell “rare collectors cards” for $350 each but actually sold fake Pokémon cards with “little to no value,” Tulsa police said. Victims purchased the cards off a craigslist ad and had the items mailed to them, Lt. Andrew Weeden with the Tulsa Police Financial Crimes told Fox 23.
Police identified victims in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Texas, and Ohio, the release said. Each victim spent thousands of dollars on the fake Pokémon cards.
Weeden told Fox 23 that the seller made between $10,000 and $12,000 in the scam.
Tulsa police arrested the seller on Nov. 1 when he was at the post office mailing more counterfeit Pokémon cards. He is facing one charge of violating trademark anti-counterfeiting act and five charges of obtaining merchandise over $1,000 by false pretense, the release said.
Real Pokemon cards have a specific texture, making it easy to identify a fake card in person but difficult online, Fox 23 reported.
Pokémon cards feature colorful characters that are used for a game where players build a deck then take turns using these cards to attack and defeat their opponent, according to Pokemon.
The cards — Pickachu and Charizard are among the most popular characters — were introduced in the United States in 1999 and quickly developed a cult-like following among kids in elementary and middle school. They had a resurgence in 2016 with the release of Pokémon GO, an interactive search game played with a cellphone.
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 1:43 PM with the headline "‘Rare’ Pokémon ‘collectors cards’ sold across the US were fake, Oklahoma police say."
