[Meat Takeshi] Is It Worse to Be Fooled?

Meat Takeshi / Takashi Kawamura / Bassist, Composer/Arranger, Streamer

Thumbnail image No.001 / 【Meat Takeshi】Is It Worse to Be Fooled?!

Meat Takeshi’s “Peace in the World Protects Me!”

Meat Takeshi YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@meatalk

Episode 24: Is It Worse to Be Fooled?

Author’s photo taken in a Taipei alleyway. Thumbnail image No.002 / 【Meat Takeshi】Is It Worse to Be Fooled?!

Recently, while riding in a taxi…
The driver was an exceptionally cheerful man who kept saying things like “What great weather today!” and “On days like this, I’d love to go on a picnic with my cute girlfriend!” He seemed so happy that I asked if something good had happened. Grinning widely, he began telling me:

This driver is turning 70 next month—and as part of his new life, he’s planning to debut as a YouTuber! When I asked what kind of channel he’d make, he said he’s loved horse racing since his youth and wants to start a prediction show. Apparently, he’s even published books on horse race forecasts, so he’s fairly well-known in that niche.

Given such background, I thought he’d probably do quite well on YouTube… but then the driver suddenly said this:

“I want to stream while playing ‘Green Channel,’ a horse racing program, and we’ll all make predictions together! ♪”

No way. Absolutely not. That YouTube channel is out of bounds. I happen to play bass for Green Channel’s theme song—whether there’s any connection or not, it’s still completely unacceptable!

I patiently tried explaining why showing the show live was problematic—but his response was unclear. Was he understanding? Or just nodding along? I started getting worried and asked what kind of support he had.

Apparently, a “YouTube professional” (a suspicious title in itself) he knew would handle everything for him. When I asked about content details, it turned out the plan is to stream once a week—watching Sunday’s horse racing show live—and they’d add subtitles and edit the 60-minute broadcast. So, four videos per month would be edited by this person.

And here’s where it gets unbelievable!

Apparently, he’ll even handle signing contracts between the driver and YouTube! Unbelievable! Absolutely incredible! Because—there’s no such thing as a “contract” with YouTube in the first place!! (Technically, Google account linking and bank registration exist.)
This is suspicious—way too suspicious. I agonized over whether to ask or not… but finally worked up the courage and asked him:

“How much are you paying them per month?”

With a huge grin, he answered loudly: “600,000 yen!”
So I yelled back just as loud: “That’s fraud! You’re being scammed!”

Should We Spoil Someone Else’s Happiness?

Fraud is absolutely forbidden! Thumbnail image No.003 / 【Meat Takeshi】Is It Worse to Be Fooled?!

I uploaded this story as a video on YouTube recently. Probably because I used the phrase “YouTube consultant scam” in the thumbnail and title, it received an abnormally low number of views—far lower than anything I’ve ever seen before. Honestly, the numbers were so bizarre that after consulting with my team, we decided to delete the video.

Certainly from YouTube’s perspective, a “YouTube consultant scam” issue would harm its image but bring no benefits. Still, I had lingering doubts and felt compelled to address it again here directly.

So, right then and there, I made the driver call off his contact. Afterward, he kept gushing about how lucky he was to have met me, even revealing that he’d already printed 300 custom YouTube business cards and handed them out! He’s full of future dreams—but watching him like this, I couldn’t help but wonder: Did stopping the scam really do any good?

At this point, it’s clear the one trying to deceive is at fault. But still… isn’t the victim also partly at fault? Or maybe not even that—perhaps if someone finds happiness in believing such things, shouldn’t they be allowed their joy?

But what truly made up my mind was when the driver said: “If it’s 600,000 yen, I’d take out a loan to pay!”
There’s no way you should go into debt just to get scammed.

To be honest, I’m still worried he’ll fall for something like this again in the future. But this time—perhaps it was meant to be—I chose to act.

Of course, 600,000 yen per month for editing four videos (including subtitles) is outrageous pricing. I almost said, “How about half price?”—but my conscience stopped me.

By the way, when I mentioned this incident on stream or posted it online, a few people actually wrote: “600,000 yen is fair.”

If it were for corporate projects—or famous YouTubers—I could just say, “Listen to reason.”
But look closely. Read carefully. This guy’s turning 70 next month and has zero YouTube experience!
Corporate? Famous? Shut up.
Never bother me again.
Even if I make an exception… you’re still not worth it.

Some people actually said seriously: “Considering the work, 600,000 yen seems reasonable.”
Seriously? Are you okay? Could you be helping these scammers yourself?

In today’s world where danger lurks just around the corner—if video editing really made that much money, everyone would rush into it!

This topic often comes up on streams: “Is it worse to be bullied?” This situation—“Is it worse to be fooled?”—is essentially in the same category.
My answer is clear: The one bullying is always at fault. Anyone telling a victim “You also deserve it” for being bullied is beyond disgraceful.

But here’s another thought: If someone who was bullied comes to realize, “Yeah… I kinda deserved this,” and learns from it—then they’ll surely go on to live a great life. They will definitely overcome hardship and achieve something shining.

So with this story in mind—I believe the same applies. Of course, scammers are wrong. And no one should say being fooled is your fault. But if someone who was tricked reflects and says, “Ah… I was foolish,” then moves forward—there’s nothing more beautiful than that.

But Mr. Driver… you don’t seem to be reflecting at all.

The One Who Gets Fooled Is Stupid! So That Makes Me Stupid Too!

I’ve said a lot—but for my own persona, it’s also valid to conclude stories like this with “It’s worse to be fooled.” Though that phrasing is blunt, I still believe there’s meaning in teaching people this way—so I’ll keep doing so through streams and articles.

Until I fell victim to phishing in Taiwan.

This happened recently at the Taipei Jazz Festival, where I was invited as a guest performer. Before and after the event, I stayed longer than usual, fully enjoying Taiwan. I devoured xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), mango pineapples, explored countless cafes—truly soaked up everything Taiwan had to offer.

Since Uber taxis are available, it helped me greatly despite not speaking Mandarin. All my transportation during the trip was solved by Uber alone.

I should never have fallen for this… Thumbnail image No.005 / 【Meat Takeshi】Is It Worse to Be Fooled?!

The incident occurred on the final day, just before the main event.
I’d just finished spending all my exchanged cash and was in a great mood.

So I called an Uber to head back to the hotel—when suddenly, an SMS popped up:

“Your card has been temporarily blocked due to required identity verification.”

Oh no… did I use Uber too much? If this continues, trouble could happen when getting out of the cab. With that thought in mind, I immediately clicked the link provided. It looked just like my usual bank’s website—I entered my card details and submitted.

Wait a second…
Do I really need to enter card info here?

That’s when it hit me—
I received an email: “Card transaction confirmed.”
“Was 10,000 yen used by you?”
“Was 3,000 yen used by you?”
“Was 5,000 yen used by you?”

Oh no… I did it…

And the Uber ride ended without any issue.
I immediately called my card company—confirmed it was a phishing scam—and had my card frozen right away. Looking back at that SMS message again: it came from an unknown personal mobile number. Completely careless. The timing couldn’t have been better (or worse).

The only thing that heals my broken heart after being fooled? Always xiaolongbao Thumbnail image No.004 / 【Meat Takeshi】Is It Worse to Be Fooled?!

It was the very moment I got into that taxi!!
That’s exactly when it should’ve happened!!!
So frustrating! So incredibly infuriating!!!

The guy who always lectures others for being stupid—now that he’s been fooled like this, people will surely laugh at me!!!!!

Still, with only one hour until showtime and no way to get back to the venue—my card was frozen, cash spent—I had no option but to explain everything to N-chan, my manager from Blue Note Tokyo, who accompanied me. She arranged a taxi right away.

Then I heard her yell through the phone in an extremely loud voice: “Hey hey! Tatsuya got scammed by phishing!!!!”
She started telling everyone around—other musicians—the full story.

Damn it!!!!! This was bound to happen!!!!
Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry—I lost my composure.

Conclusion. Yes, the one being fooled is partly at fault—but please don’t blame them

This time, I finally truly understood how a victim feels—and I’ve grown as a person because of it.
Everyone: The world isn’t full of good people only. You never know where evil eyes are watching. But still—don’t lose hope in the world. Where one god is lost, another is found. There are those who deceive—but also those who help.

As long as you don’t blame others or circumstances, and take responsibility for yourself—the world will always be on your side.

Yes—that’s why “Peace in the World protects me.”

But still… so frustrating! So unbelievably angry!!!

■■Meat Takeshi / Takashi Kawamura (Bassist, Composer/Arranger, Streamer) ■■
Takashi Kawamura—known as Meat Takeshi—is an active bassist performing live concerts and gigs worldwide. He also runs a lively streaming presence. Currently, he’s busy with his YouTube channel “Meat Takeshi -MEAT TAKESHI-” and Twitch channel “Meat Takeshi’s ‘Thick & New Game’,” where he hosts casual talk streams and game livestreams.