[Mich_alba]

Niwacity.com / Niwa Electronics is a fraudulent business.

I spent $1300 on a camera that never arrived from Niwa. When I tried to email them for a tracking number or ANYTHING (since it supposedly shipped 10/23), I received no response.

They *seemed* so respectable and thorough BEFORE I made payment, their email responses were always quick and plentiful. But once I paid, I could not get a hold of them. If you call Niwa’s phone number from their Contact Us page (888) 882.6492, you’ll hear “Thank you for calling. Goodbye.” before it hangs up. If you call the phone number under their web registration (714) 276-0355, it’s also a recorded message that hangs up. (https://whois.domaintools.com/niwacity.com)

I made payment through the only method Niwa accepted, e-gold (a non-refundable e-currency, pretty much like cash)–and I learned too late that Niwa’s e-gold accounts were just currently blocked…which apparently only happens through court order. I am in the process of finding legal counsel but my money is completely lost.

I detail my experience further here: https://gessoteric.com/niwacity-fraud

Since then, I tried to call the Orange police department to see if they could help in any way. I mean, if these scammers are actually there (which I doubt), it seems like just checking it out would help to start shutting them down. But the officer told me that since I live in Chicago, I have to file a report here. (this perplexes me since internet fraud can happen to anyone/anywhere. What if I said I lived in California?)

And when I called my police department, they told me that I can’t file a police report since it’s technically not a crime yet–it could be a civil case, wherein I have to get a lawyer. I am filling out mail-in consumer complaint forms to the State Attorney General which I was told would take 3-4 weeks to even review. Meanwhile, these Niwa scammers are still taking people’s money. It’s so quick to be taken advantage of and pretty impossible and incredibly slow to get help in just trying to thwart criminals from doing further harm.

My one concern now is that niwacity.com not be able to take advantage of others and am trying all I can to get the word out so that other potential victims can be spared. This has been quite a hard lesson for me. If I had done this exhaustive research BEFOREHAND I could have saved myself, but now hopefully I’m helping someone else.

The lesson: If it seems too good to be true, it is probably a complete lie.