Taiwanese Man Arrested For Selling Thousands Of Fake Amiibo Cards
By Zac Cameron ·
The demand for Super Smash Bros. amiibo cards has led to the arrest of a man in Taiwan, with the number of fake cards reaching the thousands.
Authorities in Taiwan have reportedly arrested a man for selling over 6,000 fake amiibo cards for Nintendo Switch games, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The cards were selling for around 16 New Taiwan dollars, or about $0.50 US each, with the report alleging the man brought the cards in bulk from a Chinese website to resell them in Taiwan.
6,850 amiibo cards were fount on the spot. These cards were originally purchased online from China (Taobao) and each card was sold at NT $16 (US 52¢) pic.twitter.com/xq8nW1rDi5
— Chinese Nintendo (@chinesenintendo) February 11, 2019
The fake cards come with an NFC chip that scans on the Nintendo Switch system, tricking the console into believing the player owns the actual amiibo figure and allowing them to access the in-game amiibo for a fraction of the price normally required.
For Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the amiibo allows the player to spawn a CPU-controlled version of the fighter that will level up to become stronger over time, as well as learn how to fight based on the skills of the player that owns it. Other games use the amiibo’s to unlock certain in-game rewards and items, meaning possession of the figures can be highly sought after.