Focus Taiwan
Date: 04/12/2020
By: Huang Li-yun and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, April 12 (CNA) As people try to find more entertainment at home during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, many video gamers in Taiwan have been reporting attempted scams, particularly for the sale of popular game consoles and related merchandise, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Sunday.

Since March, the CIB said, the country's anti-fraud hotline has received 71 reports of scams involving sales of Nintendo Switch consoles, games and merchandise.

In a statement, the CIB said 56 of those reported scams were carried out via Facebook and 10 on the online forum PTT, neither of which requires people to show their real names.

In one case, a 30-year-old man in Taichung attempted to buy an Animal Crossing: New Horizons edition of the Switch console and the Ring Fit Adventure game for NT$9,840 (USD$324) on the PTT forum, but he never received the products, the CIB said.    [FULL  STORY]