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Revision as of 10:31, 11 January 2014

Scam City
GenreDocumentary, Adventure, Reality
Presented byConor Woodman
Narrated byConor Woodman
Original languageEnglisch
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes12
Production
Production locationWorldwide
Running time45–48 minutes
Original release
NetworkTravel + Escape, National Geographic Channel
ReleaseJune 3, 2012 (2012-06-03) –
present

Scam City is a show which started airing on Travel + Escape in June 2012 which crosses the globe visiting ten of the world’s most popular cities in an effort to expose the darker side of tourism. The host, Conor Woodman, meets with questionable characters ranging from unethical cab drivers to aggressive pimps as he witnesses and experiences the travel experience of parting with personal property and money. He intentionally falls victim to these alleged scammers and says "yes" to every hooker and pocket jeweler in the city. The show aims to expose the local adaptations of common scams - from pick pockets, expensive cab fares, to bars luring people in with adult entertainment at a high cost.

Scam City has also been aired on the National Geographic Channel.[1][2]

In Australia, Scam City is shown on subscription TV channel Nat Geo Adventure, which airs on channel 628 on the Foxtel network.[3]

Controversy

Acording to Prague's criminal police department, all events depicted in the Prague episode were staged and the scammers were actually hired actors, as Czech Prima TV first revealed on October 2013.[4][5] The Prague Police spokesperson, Ms. Jana Rösslerová, happened to see the episode on TV and immediately informed her colleagues.[6] The Prague Police started to investigate the "crimes" depicted in the episode. They found and interrogated people featured in the documentary and checked all places where the crimes should have taken place. The result of their work was discovery that the whole reportage was fiction and staff shooting the documentary hired actors and extras for the roles of scammers.[6] Acording to the police, the night-club presented as a place with prostitutes and blackmailers has been closed for several years and the company Eurotaxi, used in the document as an example of taxi overpricing in Prague, went bankrupt in 2011, a year before the show was created.[6]

Conor Woodman was requested by local police to give an explanation, yet he refused to do so stating he was too busy, and Interpol was requested for assistance in this matter. The city of Prague is, as of October 2013, considering to take legal actions against National Geographic for damaging its reputation.[6]

National Geographic Channel insists that the documentary is not a fake, and that all persons depicted in the documentary were informed after the filming.[7]

Czech video portal Stream.cz made miniseries inspired by the Scam City documentary. Their crew got into similar situations and were sometimes scammed with even worse results.[8] They also revealed some errors in the statements made by Prague officials. For example, the notorious bar with prostitutes was still open at the time the original documentary was made.[9]

Season 1 (2012)

# Land Episode Details
01  Argentinien Buenos Aires Scams involve pick pocketing, clip joints, vice girls and taxi scams. Most prevalent is the counterfeit money scam.
02  Tschechische Republik Prague Scammers may disguise as beautiful girls, harmless hawkers and friendly taxi drivers.
03  Brasilien Rio de Janeiro During Carnival time Rio's scammers come out to party (on tourists).
04  Spanien Barcelona Creative thieves take what they can from unsuspecting tourists.
05  Italien Rome Conor uncovers an underworld feeding off the booming tourist scene.
06  Indien Delhi Conor meets medical 'doctors' who are very happy to treat his 'Delhi belly'.
07  Türkei Istanbul The exotic scenery of Istanbul gives a perfect environment for scammers to target vulnerable tourists.
08  Thailand Bangkok Conor uncovers a gem scam that involves a chain of scammers.
09  Vereinigte Staaten Las Vegas Tunnel dwellers who live in storm drains do plenty of scamming on the strip of Vegas.
10  Marokko Marrakech Marrakech can be maze-like without a guide, however are the guides as genuine as they seem?

Season 2 (2014)

# Land Episode Details
01  Vereinigte Staaten New Orleans Fake tickets, tarot scams and the revealing of the forbidden game of Razzle Dazzle aka Bingo Cajun
02  Mexiko Mexico City
03  Vereinigte Staaten New York City Fake Perfume, PIck pocketing, Central Park Tourist Scam
04  Niederlande Amsterdam Fake drugs,ATM Scams,Red light district, pick pocketing
05  Israel Jerusalem
06  Indien Mumbai
07  Frankreich Paris
08  England London
09  Kolumbien Bogota
10  Hongkong Hongkong

Further reading

Interview with Scam City's Conor Woodman[10]

References

  1. ^ http://www.todayonline.com/CultureAndLifestyle/EDC121004-0000006/Jetsetting-with-,,,-Scam-Citys-Conor-Woodman
  2. ^ http://natgeotv.com/uk/scam-city
  3. ^ "Scam City - Episodes". Nat Geo Adventure. November 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  4. ^ http://play.iprima.cz/odpoledni-zpravy/odpoledni-zpravy-7102013
  5. ^ http://zoom.iprima.cz/clanky/praha-mesto-podvodu-anebo-podvadi-filmari-kteri-o-ni-toci
  6. ^ a b c d http://www.novinky.cz/domaci/315459-national-geographic-licil-prahu-jako-semeniste-zlocinu-ovsem-podvadel.html
  7. ^ http://www.lidovky.cz/praha-zvazi-pravni-spor-s-national-geographic-kvuli-reportazi-p7k-/zpravy-domov.aspx?c=A131008_231029_ln_domov_sm
  8. ^ "Praha chce vymáhat omluvu za dokument Město podvodů, Stream natočil ještě horší podvody". novinky.cz.
  9. ^ http://www.stream.cz/nejnovejsi/mesto-podvodu/10000976-bar-meloun
  10. ^ "Most notorious travel scams revealed". MSN Travel. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
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