This is how this Pokémon card collector fell into the ‘Monopoly scam’

The risk of fraud is growing in the lucrative collector card market (especially with Pokémon cards, whose most valuable cards can reach astronomical figures in auctions or private sales)

Last week, an Austrian Pokémon card collector found what seemed to be a lucrative transaction for him shattered after discovering that had done nothing other than fall victim to the famous “Monopoly scam”, losing a sum of 105,000 euros.

The case, which has captured international attention, occurred when the 28-year-old young man traveled from Vienna to the city of Turin with the intention of selling part of his Pokémon card collection to an alleged Italian buyer.

A seemingly reliable buyer

The scammer contacted the collector through social networks, showing great interest in acquiring the valuable collection of letters. Initially, the collector’s sale offer was 110,000 eurosbut after a brief negotiation, and thinking that he was dealing with a serious buyer, he agreed to reduce the price to 105,000 euros.

To complete the transaction, the young Austrian traveled to Turin, carrying the precious letters in a briefcase. There, he was received by the supposed buyer in an apartment located in the Mirafiori neighborhood, on the southern outskirts of the city. Nothing made him suspicious: both exchanged jokes and had a coffee before proceeding with the sale.

The ‘Monopoly scam’ in action

Everything seemed to be going well. The buyer showed the briefcase that supposedly contained the 105,000 euros and the collector, without suspecting anything, handed over his collection. However, during the exchange process, an accomplice of the scammer took the opportunity to perform a sleight of handreplacing the briefcase with real money with another full of fake bills from the popular board game Monopoly.

These types of scams, called “Monopoly scams,” They are common in transactions where large sums of cash are handled. They consist of carrying out a briefcase exchange where, with some type of distraction or complicity, the scammers manage to replace real money with counterfeit bills from board games, causing the victim to only realize the deception when it is too late.

The collector, confident that everything had turned out well, He returned to his hotel without checking his briefcase.. It wasn’t until he opened it later that he realized that instead of real euros, the inside contained the familiar toy banknotes with the Euro logo. Monopoly.

So our protagonist immediately went to the nearest police station to report the fraud… but the case faces several obstacles: since it is a physical scam and not one carried out through digital means, The trail left by the scammer and his accomplice is more difficult to follow.

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