5万円でiPhone購入も届いたのは箱だけ　説明欄に“モールス信号”で「ハコノミ」記載（2026年04月03日）

(Aired April 2, 2026) A man purchased the latest iPhone from a flea market website, but only received the box. This incident revealed the existence of unscrupulous sellers who falsify product information on flea market websites. Mysterious symbols were used in their descriptions. The victim is a man in his 40s. On March 29th, the man found the latest iPhone model listed at a ridiculously low price on the flea market website "Mercari." The price was about half the retail price, around 50,000 yen. Attracted by the low price, the man immediately paid 50,000 yen to Mercari. Three days later, the box arrived, but there was no iPhone inside. Instead, the box contained a handwritten letter. The letter, written on both sides, read, "Please read the entire product description," and "Also, this time, we've used Morse code to ensure everyone can see it." Morse code is a system of communication using combinations of dots and lines. The seller was using Morse code, a signal used to signal for distress at sea and deprecated in 1999, to describe the product. What does this mean? Looking at the seller's product description again, we see dots and lines separating the sentences. These are Morse code. So, what does it say? We tried to decipher these mysterious symbols using a Morse code experience site on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' website. The seller used Morse code to describe the item as "box only." It's like a code. The man who complained of the incident said: "I wasn't disappointed or annoyed, I just laughed, a stifled laugh... I can't accept this, seriously..." The product description was written in Chinese and Korean as "box only," but this was not mentioned in the Japanese description. Mercari has stated that the seller's actions in the dispute with the man constitute prohibited conduct. Mercari has seen a series of fraudulent sales of empty boxes for the popular game console "Nintendo Switch 2," prompting them to clarify their rules against such misleading listings in January 2026. The victim filed a police report on the 2nd. The victim said: "Honestly, I'm furious. Anyone could become a victim, not just me. These fraudulent listings need to be eradicated." Mercari responded to the program's inquiry by stating, "We are currently restricting the use of the seller involved in this matter."