National Geographic - Scam City (2012)

Ever had your pocket picked? Been ripped off by a taxi driver? Well, every year, hundreds of millions of tourists have their holidays ruined by conmen and scammers and often in the most glamorous cities on earth. Now Conor Woodman enters the underworld of petty crime and gets scammed…so you don’t have to.

Part 1: Buenos Aires
Common scams in Buenos Aires involve pick pocketing, clip joints, vice girls and taxi scams. Perhaps most prevalent though, and running out of control, is the city’s problem with counterfeit money.


Part 2: Prague
Disguised as beautiful girls, harmless hawkers and friendly taxi drivers, Prague’s scammers emerge after dark to prey on the scores of unwitting tourists enjoying the nightlife.


Part 3: Rio De Janeiro
When millions of tourists descend on Rio for one of the biggest parties on the planet at Carnival time, it’s time for Rio’s scammers to party hard too.


Part 4: Barcelona
Barcelona has so much to give but the city’s creative thieves are also ready to take what they can from unsuspecting tourists. Travel expert Conor Woodman wants to see exactly who these people are.


Part 5: Rome
Travel expert Conor Woodman is in Rome, on a mission to uncover the gritty underworld that feeds off the Eternal City’s thriving tourist scene.


Part 6: Delhi
Delhi is a vibrant melting pot, offering deliciously different experiences that attract backpackers from all over the world. Conor Woodman reveals how innocent tourists are taken in.


Part 7: Istanbul
The exotic blend of Istanbul can be both fascinating and disorienting and, as travel expert Conor Woodman finds, a perfect environment for scammers to target vulnerable tourists.


Part 8: Bangkok
Travel expert Conor Woodman returns to Bangkok to see if the gem scam he first encountered there is still being run – and to discover even more elaborate ones.


Part 9: Las Vegas
Travel expert Conor Woodman goes on a journey from the swankiest casinos and nightclubs to beneath the Strip itself, where tunnel dwellers live in the storm drains.


Part 10: Marrakech
Travel expert Conor Woodman is in the labyrinthine city of Marrakech. It’s a maze-like world where you’re lost without a guide… but there’s no way to be sure whose side the guide is on.






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