Ever Been Scammed? – Play Asia Rules

A SCAM A LA PUERTO RICO…

My trip to Spain, specifically Las Palmas, was in 2002, if I recall correctly. Everything seemed fine, except for the fact that it rained six out of the seven days we were there. The one day the sun finally decided to show its face turned out to be the day that ruined the entire vacation. The local businesses, starved for customers during the rainy week, were eager to make up for lost time, and I walked right into a trap—a scam I’d heard about before but, being naive, fell for anyway.

After returning from the beach, we decided to take a stroll through the shopping street in Puerto Rico. Along the way, we came across a shop advertising various “cheap” goods, including a really nice Sony video camera at an unbelievably low price. Something didn’t feel right, so I suggested we ignore the shop and head back to the hotel. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened…

THE SUN WAS FINALLY OUT, EVERYTHING LOOKED GREAT…

After about 4-5 hours of debating whether to go back and check it out, we finally decided to return to the shop and take a look at the deal. By the time we got there, the shop had different staff, and the camera deal was somewhat hidden. I asked if it was still available, and the guy responded, “Yes, it is, but I need to talk to my brother (or family… I can’t remember exactly).” He returned with his brother or family member, and they gave me a demonstration of the camera. I tried it out and confirmed that it was indeed the real deal.

That’s when the shopkeepers started their “trick,” trying to convince me to buy a different, “better” camera. They began confusing me with various products, but I insisted, “No, I want the one I came in for!” Eventually, they seemed to accept my decision and asked for payment. Foolishly, I flashed my Visa card, and before I even said I wanted to use it, one of the guys grabbed it and headed into the back room, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m an honest man!” Sure…

He came back with the card in the payment terminal and said, “I’ve entered the amount, you just need to enter your code and press ‘ok’.” I checked the sum—100 Euros—which seemed fine, so I entered my code, thinking I’d made a good deal. But suddenly, he handed me a box with a different camera, saying, “You’re a good friend, so I’m giving you a better model!” That’s when I realized I’d been scammed, but I wasn’t sure just how badly.

I started to get angry and raised my voice, and my girlfriend did the same, but it was futile. There was no one else around except for the “family” running the scam—they seemed to own the three adjacent shops and were working together. As the situation grew increasingly hostile and uncomfortable, I decided it was best to leave. I knew I needed to call my bank to cancel my card, fearing they might try to scam me for more money, especially since they now had my personal code.

I managed to contact the bank just in time—they had already stopped a 1,000 Euro transaction that had been attempted right before the 100 Euro one. It turns out they had somehow stolen my code before even getting my card, possibly when I used it at a different shop earlier.

In the end, I lost 100 Euros on a camera worth only 2 Euros, but at least I was able to prevent them from taking all my money. I vowed never to return to that awful island again. This happened 12 years ago, but the memory is still vivid.

LONG GONE ARE THE SCAMS OF THE STREETS, SAY HELLO TO THE INTERNET…

The reason for this post is something that happened just yesterday/today. I received some exciting news yesterday that several classic games had been released as exclusives on the PS4 PSN JAP store. So, I decided to visit play-asia.com to purchase some PSN NETWORK cards to buy the games, since, unfortunately, Visa, PayPal, and other payment methods no longer work directly on the PSN store there if you live in Europe or America.

I checked various forums for information about different sites, and my choice seemed solid since there were plenty of positive reviews and stories about this particular shop. I used PayPal for my payment, and everything felt smooth—until after I placed the order. The PayPal transaction hadn’t gone through, and I was left wondering what happened. I had entered my password and everything, so I was confused.

I went back to the forums and discovered that many others had experienced the same issue. I’m not sure how I missed those warnings earlier, but the key seems to be the combination of PayPal and Play-Asia.

After about 20 minutes of browsing and waiting, I decided to give it another shot. This time, I encountered a different payment process—it was still PayPal, but it went through, with the caveat that Play-Asia wouldn’t process the payment until I verified my identity as the card and account owner.

So, I proceeded with the verification process, confirming my phone number, email, and so on. Everything seemed to go smoothly, and PayPal logged me out afterwards, so I thought I was in the clear.

I returned to Play-Asia and checked my order list. The order was there, but it was marked as “waiting, security check ongoing.” I thought, “Hey, I’ve already done that!” Frustrated, I sent them a complaint email, pointing out that their site advertised these digital deals as instant, with codes delivered within a minute.

HAVE I BEEN INTERNET SCAMMED OR NOT?…

I decided to take it easy and wait until today before sending any more emails. Here in Norway, we have bank transaction security, so any unauthorized or suspicious transactions would be stopped and refunded if necessary. Plus, I used PayPal, which offers similar protections. So, this morning at 6:45, I checked my email to see if I had received any updates from them—nothing yet, and the order still showed the “security check ongoing” message. Since it was early and I was at work, I figured I could wait a bit longer.

At 9:29, my phone rang, but I missed the call. The number was listed as unknown, and I couldn’t call back. I decided to keep a close watch on my phone for the rest of the day. I didn’t have to wait long—at 9:47, the phone rang again from the same unlisted number. I answered, and the caller said, “Hello, is this Tony?” I confirmed it was me. “Okay,” she said, “this is [name] calling from Play-Asia in Hong Kong.”

“Great,” I replied. She continued, “I’m just calling to verify that you ordered a PSN card last night.” I confirmed, and she asked for some details like my email address and payment method. Everything checked out, and then she said, “Thank you for shopping at Play-Asia. Your digital download key is now available.” I logged onto the site, and sure enough, the key was there—and it worked perfectly.

This is what I call service! I can’t imagine how much that 3-4 minute phone call must cost them if they’re calling people around the world to verify that the orders are legitimate and not from scammers. I didn’t get scammed, and although I wasn’t overly sceptical, I was still a bit cautious—after all, you never know. I could have been using a VPN or something similar. It’s reassuring to see and experience such a level of service, and because of this, I’ll definitely use this shop again in the future. I’m not sure if this kind of thing is common, but I have to admit that I feel a lot safer now when it comes to online shopping without direct recommendations.

Thanks for your time, and I’d love to hear back from you—maybe even a story or two about whether you’ve ever been scammed.