Ever order a Switch and receive a brick instead? If so, you probably ordered it from a fake website. Nintendo has put out a PSA warning prospective customers that a website has illegally used its logo and assets to masquerade as an official storefront and offered huge discounts on products as a possible scam.
"We have recently confirmed the existence of a fake website that spoofs the Nintendo website,” says the statement (thanks, VGC). “These fake sites have nothing to do with our company. The fake sites illegally use our company’s logo, make it look as if they are operated by our company, and display our products, including Nintendo Switch, as if they can be purchased at a greatly discounted price."
Nintendo goes on to warn customers that if they make purchases from such sites, they may become victims of possible fraudulent activities like monetary scams or personal information acquisition. The statement provides links to the official Nintendo website, along with those for Japan's cyber crime division and Consumer Affairs Agency. "If we discover a fake site like this one, we will notify the police and related ministries and agencies," continued the post.
From what we've seen in the past, we can assume that Nintendo will unleash the full might of its legal team once the people behind the fake website are identified. In December, Gary Bowser – not to be mistaken for the Nintendo of America boss or Mario's nemesis – agreed to pay the company an additional $10 million as part of a settlement for the creation and sale of Switch modchips. This is not only over and above the $4.5 million he already owed the company, but chances of him going to prison are still high.
In July last year we reported that RomUniverse, a site where people could download ROM files to play old games via emulators, was sued by Nintendo for using copyrighted material. Matthew Storman was ordered to shut down RomUniverse and pay Nintendo $2.1 million in damages. However, when Storman considered relaunching the site without Nintendo games, he was quickly shut down due to a permanent injunction by the US Central District Court of California. This means that it's now illegal for Storman to restart RomUniverse ever again.