Con artists are scoring big in Japan, using the March 11 disasters to milk people of their hard earned money.

A woman in Kure City, Hiroshima, was tricked into donating 120,000 yen to a non-existent family.

A man in the Hokuriku area reports: “Several days ago, two men in business suits came to my house and introduced themselves as workers from the city office. They requested a donation for quake relief, and trusting them, I gave 5,000 yen.” The men were con-artists.

Even legitimate businesses are ripping off consumers: A woman in the Koshinetsu region bought some King Crabs for 12,000 yen, a real bargain for how many she was getting. But she says when the order arrived the poor quality was so bad, she knew she had been ripped off.  The seller had told her it was a “Tohoku disaster” sale.

The National Consumer Affairs Center has received thousands of complaints.  The scams involve swindlers posing as government officials, charity officials, building inspectors and contractors offering to quake proof your home.  The scams also include internet swindles.

Most people who’ve been scammed say the same thing, they had a gut feeling that told them not to give their money, they should have obeyed that feeling.