Fake Nintendo Lawyer Seemingly Targeting YouTubers

An investigation by The Verge found that an individual posing as a member of Nintendo’s legal department was at the center of several DMCA notices to YouTube content creators. The individual ultimately had no relation to Nintendo, with the Japanese company even affirming that it would investigate the matter further.

The YouTuber at the center of the scam, a Let’s Play creator by the name of Domtendo, was one of multiple channels targeted by the bad actor. Donning the persona of Tatsumi Masaaki, an actual person with some relation to Nintendo, the individual has brought into question YouTube’s policies.

Emails Tell All

According to the investigation, Domtendo received a DMCA notice after uploading The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom videos in September. That notice came at the request of Tatsumi Masaaki from the Nintendo of America legal department. While seemingly legitimate, one email was sent from a personal address, causing the creator to push back.

The bad actor continued to email Domtendo, threatening legal action, including a lawsuit. In one such email provided, the fake lawyer managed to invoke the name of Nintendo of America president, Doug Bowser. Eventually, the creator was prompted to reach out to Nintendo itself, with the company relaying that the lawyer was a fraud and not affiliated with the company.

At some point, the fraudster “retracted” all the claims, even relaying that Nintendo had “suspended” him from filing future copyright claims. The creator also seemingly discovered that the email address was being spoofed via an Internet tool, thus putting an end to the saga.

For YouTube’s part, the company did confirm to The Verge that it had received false claims, though it did not elaborate on why or how the company was willing to accept the claims from a fake email address. As for Domtendo, the creator believes that things have to “change now” in order to protect individuals. And the fraudulent lawyer? Well, when reached by The Verge, they continued to maintain their persona, writing that they are “an authorized agent” of Nintendo.

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