HOKKAIDO (TR) – Hokkaido Prefectural Police have arrested a 31-year-old man and six others in Sapporo City for allegedly swindling victims out of over 900 million yen through an overpriced telemarketing scheme known as the “crab-crab scam,” reports Fuji News Network (Sep. 2).
Hokuto Uchiyama and his six accomplices were arrested and sent to prosecutors between July and August. Operating under company names such as “Kita no Miyako” and “Hokusho Suisan,” the ring is accused of cold-calling residents and tricking them into buying vastly overpriced seafood.
To corner their victims, the suspects would often lie, claiming, “You’ve ordered from us before,” or use high-pressure sales pitches like, “We are holding a Hokkaido product exhibition right now. We’ll send you more seafood than you can eat.”
Police believe the syndicate successfully targeted approximately 42,000 people across Japan.
Bundles of seafood
The gang sold bundles of seafood — including snow crab, salmon, squid, and Atka mackerel — for exorbitant prices, sometimes charging 100,000 yen for a single set.
However, local seafood experts say the goods were practically worthless. Kenichi Shimamura, manager of a Sapporo fish market, scoffed when shown a 100,000-yen bundle recovered from the scammers.
“That is ridiculously high. This entire set absolutely isn’t even worth 10,000 yen,” Shimamura said. “I wouldn’t even buy that freezer-burned crab to begin with.”
“Hokkaido seafood is tempting”
One victim, a man in his 70s from Aichi Prefecture, recounted receiving a call in January. The scammers initially offered him a seafood set for 30,000 yen. When he refused, they slashed the price to 15,000 yen, promising him a deal he “wouldn’t regret.”
“Hokkaido seafood is tempting,” the man admitted. But upon receiving a meager seven-item package, reality set in. “I thought, ‘I’ve been scammed.’ It probably wasn’t even worth 5,000 yen.”
The National Consumer Affairs Center is urging the public to flatly refuse suspicious sales calls. If unwanted seafood arrives via a cash-on-delivery service, officials advise residents to explain the situation to the courier, refuse the delivery entirely, and withhold payment.
