Japan - Victim of Roppongi scam.

Hi. I managed to be scammed yesterday.i was taken into amassage institute and paid way overprice. I managed to get 11000 yen back, but that was far from the total amount. I had to use violence to get hold of my VISA card. I then went to the police station and I showed them recipts with 11000 yen back. They said they were going to issue a warning to the place. I can bear the overprice, but I Think they may have scanned the card. So what do you suggest? I am thinking of calling my bank and cance,l the card and Get a new one when i Get back home.

Hi. I managed to be scammed yesterday.i was taken into amassage institute and paid way overprice. I managed to get 11000 yen back, but that was far from the total amount. I had to use violence to get hold of my VISA card. I then went to the police station and I showed them recipts with 11000 yen back. They said they were going to issue a warning to the place. I can bear the overprice, but I Think they may have scanned the card. So what do you suggest? I am thinking of calling my bank and cance,l the card and Get a new one when i Get back home.

Do it. Play it safe and cancel.

What the heck are you waiting for?!
Cancel that card immediately.
Probably best to draw out as much as you can to get you through the next few days before you do if that's your only way of getting money.

Scammed at a "massage institute" in Roppongi. Who would have guessed? :rolleyes: At least it wasn't Kabukicho. Your "violence" might have gotten you hurt or worse. The boys with missing little fingers don't mess around.

Don't wait until you get home. Call the international number on your card and report the possible compromised card. It should be locked or cancelled.

A recommendation: don't use credit cards at adult venues. Use cash.

how much were you "scammed"?

At least it wasn't Kabikicho.
Rappungi, Kabikicho, what's the difference (http://www.azarajokes.com/pe-What%26%2339%3Bs+the+difference%3F-2600-260000-214.htm)?

Hi. I managed to be scammed yesterday.i was taken into amassage institute and paid way overprice. I managed to get 11000 yen back, but that was far from the total amount. I had to use violence to get hold of my VISA card. I then went to the police station and I showed them recipts with 11000 yen back. They said they were going to issue a warning to the place. I can bear the overprice, but I Think they may have scanned the card. So what do you suggest? I am thinking of calling my bank and cance,l the card and Get a new one when i Get back home.

Do it. Play it safe and cancel.

+1agree

Rappungi, Kabikicho, what's the difference (http://www.azarajokes.com/pe-What%26%2339%3Bs+the+difference%3F-2600-260000-214.htm)?

At least it wasn't in Ginza, which is strictly for the shopping. No massage institutes anywhere near Ginza, no siree.

I agree, call the CC company immediately and inform them that your card has possibly been compromised. They will be able to block the card and issue a new card number for the account.

If you must go to establishments in disreputable areas, I would suggest not even bringing ATM, debit, or credit cards with you. Taking only cash limits potential losses (and spending).

If you are looking for a legitimate massage in Tokyo, the best places are hotel spas. It is a well known fact that scams are common in the nightlife areas of Roppongi and Kabukicho, which are areas that are best avoided completely.

Thanks for all advice. I cancelled the card, and it is of course the first and last time I go into any massage in Roppongi and well be a scam victim at all. The bars I went into was good though, and i did not use any card there just cash.

+1 Dumb to use a credit card at these places.

What did you pay for the massage and what was the name of the place.

+1 Dumb to use a credit card at these places.

What did you pay for the massage and what was the name of the place.

I paid way too much. I have some sort of recipt which states the name in Japanese, I am now back in my home country and I guess I will contact my bank shortly to make them cancel the transactions (they have not gone out yet)

I paid way too much.

So, what exactly was the scam? Did they quote you a price up front and then not honor it or tack on "extras?" Or did you not settle on a price up front and then were surprised at how much they wanted?

This is hardly unique to Japan - and sometimes it's less witting than someone walking in; it could be a local civilian approaching one in a friendly manner to visit a tearoom / bar / etc. who acts surprised / disappears when the unbelieving inflated bill comes, sometimes / often backed by very large men with pleasant demeanours and very "persuasive" ways.

Live and learn (though generally expensive lessons) Better yet, do a little preparation (here, Lonely Planet, etc.) before visiting.

So, what exactly was the scam? Did they quote you a price up front and then not honor it or tack on "extras?" Or did you not settle on a price up front and then were surprised at how much they wanted?

It had a price list where it was about 20000 yen (already ridiclious) but then started to add on 3000 yen, stating it was tax. And still they wanted all my cash aswell, including some Norwegian Krone I had on me. And then a second time the price rose to 27000 yen and they were just money, money, money. Well after that point I said stop, no more money. If I hadn't done that the total bill would have been 100 000 yen or even larger I guess which would have led to an overdraft. As I went into this scam in the first place I will just go on and bear the loss of money. Fresh money will come in soon luckily.

On the visit before in August last year I came from Korea and I thought Yen was just a little bit stronger than the Won, so I ended up by taking out 100 000 Yen at Narita airport. The thing is both the Yen and the Won are both weaker than the Norwegian Krone. That was even a bigger selftriggered "scam". :p

It had a price list where it was about 20000 yen (already ridiclious) but then started to add on 3000 yen, stating it was tax. And still they wanted all my cash aswell, including some Norwegian Krone I had on me. And then a second time the price rose to 27000 yen and they were just money, money, money. Well after that point I said stop, no more money. If I hadn't done that the total bill would have been 100 000 yen or even larger I guess which would have led to an overdraft. As I went into this scam in the first place I will just go on and bear the loss of money. Fresh money will come in soon luckily.

On the visit before in August last year I came from Korea and I thought Yen was just a little bit stronger than the Won, so I ended up by taking out 100 000 Yen at Narita airport. The thing is both the Yen and the Won are both weaker than the Norwegian Krone. That was even a bigger selftriggered "scam". :p

Honestly, depending on where you went and what services the offered, the pricing is not really out of line. The fact that they keep asking for more money sounds like a Chinese operated shop. Usually in Tokyo, businesses are pretty squeaky clean about this kind of thing. That being said, I would never let some one drag me off the street nor would I ever use a credit card if I didn't know the place.

Doesn't sound like a happy ending to me.

Bars in Roppongi (or anywhere in Japan, for that matter) are safe for credit cards as long as they are legitimate high-street places. If a tout or a barfly takes you to some place in a run-down office building, and you could never find the place by yourself even if you wanted to look for it, that's a good sign that you should be using cash (assuming you don't have the sense to walk away immediately).

IIRC there is nothing illegal in paying for a happy ending in Japan as long as no intercourse is involved; the establishment, on the other hand, could get busted for not having a proper license. It's also highly unlikely that Chinese masseuses will want to deal with the police, since most of them are in Japan illegally to begin with. So taking the dispute to the cops is one solution. Of course, if you threaten do this while you are still inside the massage parlor, they can stonewall you and try to keep you from leaving.

If there is a billing dispute, the best thing to do is to offer a lower price, which will often be accepted. If they really dig their heels in, tell them you don't have enough cash and that you need to go to an ATM. They will probably accompany you out to the street for this, at which point you can make a break for the subway station, koban or another neutral zone.

I just took the loss, seems like nothing more happened since I cancelled the card and got a new one. But never again that is for sure.I will defintly visit Tokyo again. If I ever get to visit Tokyo again during New Years Eve I think I'll do the traditional Japanese temple thing instead of hanging around in Roppongi. After the incident I just took a taxi to my hotel even though there were extra New Years Eve departures on the metro, they were pretty infrequent. I just pointed out the metro station on a metro map since my hotel was pretty close. a minor station.

100,000 yen doesn't sound like so much for a "night out." There are legit gentlemen's clubs in New York where a bottle of vodka costs more than that ( > $1,000), whether the marks know it or not when they order.

100,000 yen doesn't sound like so much for a "night out." There are legit gentlemen's clubs in New York where a bottle of vodka costs more than that ( > $1,000), whether the marks know it or not when they order.

I dropped $8k once in 2 hours in a Club in Roppongi. Different job, different era:).

I dropped $8k once in 2 hours in a Club in Roppongi. Different job, different era:).

Wow that is much! I think I should be happy that I got out of it with less than $1000...

Wow that is much! I think I should be happy that I got out of it with less than $1000...

William, you still have not answered the question many of us are dying to know: I can't ask it directly as it'll get moderated out.

William, you still have not answered the question many of us are dying to know: I can't ask it directly as it'll get moderated out.

I think he just said he was happy;)

And in other news, night will become day. :D

William, you still have not answered the question many of us are dying to know: I can't ask it directly as it'll get moderated out.

It sure sounds like he got screwed...

William, you still have not answered the question many of us are dying to know: I can't ask it directly as it'll get moderated out.

If it is the question I think you are asking me about the answer is clearly a big no.

If it is the question I think you are asking me about the answer is clearly a big no.

Then I would be even more upset than you seem to be, since you certainly got ripped off in the services for price paid category.

Then I would be even more upset than you seem to be, since you certainly got ripped off in the services for price paid category.

Yup I know I was ripped off, but I am finished with the case and life goes on. Never again that is for sure.

Yup I know I was ripped off, but I am finished with the case and life goes on. Never again that is for sure.

Best answer.

here's a US warning, click CRIME on this link:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1148.html#crime