Scam City: New York City - Huge and Dangerous Counterfeit Scams | Free Documentary

foreign cities famous for their culture and Beauty but there's something else waiting in the shadows the scammers the hustlers the thieves and they're all looking for tourists to con stay against the wall Russian Roulette are you joking me I'm Connor Woodman and in scam City I set myself up as bait this is like being kidnapped a willing victim to be fleeced I'll catch the scammers in the act you know where my wallet is and reveal the tricks of the trade because wise too dangerous and I'll expose them face to face we are filming you me scam City I get scammed so you don't have to [Music] I've fallen deep into an illicit scam in New York City maybe too deep okay you give me a price right now 2 000 bottles of Chanel Number Five they say it's safe nowadays but is the Big Apple really so shiny and clean for me foreign [Music] I've just woken up in the city that never sleeps and I'm going Walkabout like the 50 million other tourists who come here every year but I'm souvenir hunting for scammers New York City claims have completely cleaned up exact Zero Tolerance three strikes and you're out we'll say there's no crime here anymore but one thing I know is any City against a million visitors a week well gotta be scammed Welcome to New York I see you big baby if you take a bite of the Big Apple what juicy scams will be revealed [Music] [Music] Times Square is the biggest tourist hot spot in the city everyone who visits New York heads here this was known for being a notorious crime spot in the 70s and 80s it was the center for Hustlers and prostitutes surrounded by porn Cinemas and Clip Joints these days all the brothels have been replaced with donut shops and the prostitutes are all cartoon characters it's a lot less Gangland a bit more Disneyland Lou Reed wouldn't be walking on the Wild Side here nowadays he'd be having his picture taken with Mickey Mouse for Cash Out of Towners all want to take a photo home as memento [Music] but is it all as innocent as it appears to be two dollars fantastic [Music] two dollars [Music] beautiful Liberty how much is that from five hey Batman think Batman's drunk the Cookie Monster oh really two of you looks like I've got no choice I only really wanted Cookie Monster geez jeez yeah there's a pattern here choose a character and another one jumps in I thought I was just having a picture with buzz but Sonic wants a share of the action yeah how much [Music] hotels foreign expensive those guys over there are only two dollars thank you thank you thank you very much so both buzz and Sonic get paid you post a picture with one and the other one comes to stands next to you then of course you pay one let's play the other one as well these unlicensed characters have been known to lose their rag with tourists who don't pay up but after a recent arrest today feels like they're almost on their best behavior foreign having spent a couple of hours here it seems much safer than the crime-ridden place it was and the hustlers of old have moved on maybe they've gone elsewhere but for tonight the Hunt is over time to go back to the hotel but I'm struggling to find a cab on the street looking for a cab until a black limo pulls up [Music] [Music] where are you from originally I'm from uh Harlem I'm from New York you're a New Yorker yeah wow it's a rare thing in New York me I love New York period have anybody asked me where I'm from I never separated Brooklyn or Harlem I'm I was born in Harlem I'm from New York I love the underdog this is the city of the underdog do you consider yourself being Underdog I'm a dog that doesn't bite too hard but knows how to eat well explain to me what the deal is with the Yellow Cabs and then the cars like yours and how that works well cars like mines is just me freelancing me taking a little piece of that pie you never know who you're gonna meet you know I might be your go-to guy when you touch down in New York a go-to guy he could come in handy what kind of things Beyond giving someone a ride somewhere can you offer customers you might want to know where you can meet a nice girl you're talking about what I think you're talking about nice company [Music] a lot of people say New York's kind of lost its bite you know that it was it used to be a kind of rougher place than it it is these days do you think that's true some people come here and think that it's the best thing since sliced bread and some people come here and see it to be the most scariest place this is where you come I guess if you want to feel the experience of getting to know the supposed crazy things or scary things my new friend Breezy says the place is cleaned up but there's still some shady characters to be found [Music] thank you foreign [Music] which used to have a reputation as a tough part of town but nowadays it feels like a changed Borough Breezy's given me a lead to a guy called Sherman OT Powell who he says may be able to give me a rundown on the pickpockets of New York and whether they're still here somewhere how long have you lived in Harlem and I came here in 1969 I've been up here I guess for the last 25 30 years most of that time I was a pickpocket oh yeah yeah that's how I made my living right yeah working what kind of areas basically in Grand Central Station you know I would go uh play the bus stop on 57th Street and Third Avenue sometime I'd go to a report Authority what was Time Square like back in those days was it as wild as wild as everyone says it was what you know everybody trying to get a dog yeah at one time you couldn't get through Times Square without getting getting a pickpocketed or prostitute grabbing you or you know they used to wait for the sailors to get off the boat tourists to come in at Times Square was something else and what was the most you ever made from a single lift about 2200 200 one yeah man or a woman that was a woman that was going through Masons do you think there's still Hustlers out there in New York it's not like it used to be [Applause] so even Sherman's gone straight too many cops credit cards and not enough cash he gives me the number for a crew working over in Brooklyn but tomorrow [Music] 's introduction they seem a bit uneasy about meeting with me three strikes and you're at zero tolerance policy has had an impact my job is going to be tough where are all the double dealers yeah I'm gonna head down to Canal Street where there's loads of shops tourists go there to buy souvenirs and that kind of thing see if I can find any scams down there they're a little bit juicier [Music] New York has a great reputation for shopping it's home to famous department stores like Bloomingdale's and Macy's but like millions of tourists I'm looking for a bargain which means I'm heading to Canal Street [Music] great place to pick up a present for my girlfriend a bag maybe some perfume [Music] which one should be looking for some Chanel Number Five yeah I do have you do yeah okay yeah please stay here one second oh cool uh how much is it it's 45 45. it's a big bottle big bottle is it real yeah of course the only perfumes let's see 45 is just over a third of the retail price can you not open let me have a sniff you say it's real of course yeah this is strong yeah I feel like the main muscle is very musky like that smells like the real thing so what's your best price give me 35 okay 20 20 bucks 25 is okay 25 bucks same one you're only buying this stuff same one that I would buy in Macy's yeah same thing cool man 25 bucks is almost too good to be true when something feels too good to be true it usually means it isn't but with every second shop along Canal Street selling cheap perfume there must be a lot of wide-eyed tourists who at least believe they're getting a bargain [Music] another tourist hot spot is Central Park today it's full of people out for a stroll riding bikes and hiring pedicabs do you 70. 70 okay within moments of my arrival I'm getting the Hard Sell ing everyone [Music] three stops okay I'll think about it just as I get rid of one guy another one's on my case ub75 there's no tax 75 for one hour but maybe more I'm not gonna give you a time limit or a stop limit okay second reason I also stopped by John my name okay is he in yeah is he in is John Lennon yeah my guy is not home since um don't come back to me man I'm just talking to this guy he just thank you oh you're sweet well I'm looking for the best price aren't I what's the what's the problem so wet all right some people tell you like oh it's this building I'm gonna live there it's not really right some people are people people will lie to you that's the whole time I'll give you 65. on the other side of the street I noticed an official looking guy with a clipboard and a badge watching what's going on is he monitoring the touts he's not a pedicated he's not no he's not a pedicated so he's just like a tout that is the go-between and he takes a commission and he takes the commission so really you should have one of these to even even approach a tourist absolutely let's call us to listen basically what he's doing you know he just works with other people he's like a middleman in a case so to speak he offered me 65. he'll make a cut from there 65 few years ago it wasn't even like this it was all just pedicab drivers hustling for their own foreign here are the unlicensed tabs they charge you an extra 25 for walking you 20 meters to the bikes the insistent one is back over near the subway exit [Music] now here's the guy yeah yeah my friend I was a bit worried earlier because you guys I thought you're gonna have a fight you started when people talk to you so they may have my gun I'm just shopping around yeah you're right you have right to do this you won't take the pedicure oh man I don't want to start a fight I think I'm going to go with it with with the guy because I kind of said I would now well how much you chose it's the same as you because I just I kind of doesn't like me anymore delivers me to his rider a bit further into the park you got a ticket yeah yeah he's gonna cost you two hundred dollars but the police are out in force today [Music] so only the licensed drivers are working it lives up there the way to Brad Brad there LaToya Jackson you can see the building with the Red Bull Woody Allen Tom hey Tom Cruise on the right side natural so what was here before just rocks a swamp with rocks yeah the rocky swamp how do you know all this stuff is there a school that you go to to learn all this really about a Central Park yeah oh you can buy the books and do you think you know stuff that other other guys don't know I know what I know but what they know I don't know well there's no turf war going on here all the scammers of Freelancers and anyone's free to have a go it's hardly The Gangs of New York [Music] I know a bargain when I see one but that perfume I bought on Canal Street must have a story behind it the shopkeeper insisted it was real but I have my doubts with Steve the cameraman I'm going back to pose as a commercial buyer I want to see if I can talk them into admitting the stuff is fake and maybe even find out where they get it from can you do an order if I give you like a particular brand would you be able to see if we could find it how many Maybe 10. when it's Dave possible I'm here for I'm here for a couple of days so but it's a it's a Tom Ford but it's not this one it's uh I'll write it down for you if you like you on now it's not Black Orchid it's not Black Orchid it's called Noir de Noir while the runner goes off to check the stock room the manager appears and gets on the phone to his distributor [Music] he takes his business card out of his pocket which gives me an idea how I've got the number of a distributor and his address [Music] it's interesting that all those guys are selling designer perfumes on Canal Street and they all say the same thing it's real look it's sealed it's the same one you buy in Macy's but what I did was I asked them for a brand that I know would be quite difficult to get hold of and then they started calling their distributors and what I did was take a cheeky little photograph the business card on my phone the boots and shops on Canal Street that sell scents are pretty small and I've noticed they're constantly serviced by Runners very little stock seems to be kept on the premises found the address on the card I photographed behind the guy's back and it's led me to the Garment District the shop is well stocked and if he's supplying Canal Street then somebody must be supplying him I got your number from a guy down Canal Street I was talking to because I want to buy a quantity of a couple of fragrances so what I'm wondering is is it possible can you get some made for me I mean can you reverse engineer these the guys down on Canal because you called me a shirt he called her so he said but he said they can't do it but you supply them right but not those are they wouldn't carry but I can look for you anyway and what if it's not something anyone carries can we is it is it possible is someone here in New York could make it it's very hard still I'm looking for you keep the card call me tomorrow okay put this on okay let me see if I get some for you and if you can't if you can't get it is there somewhere else I can try this is a difficult one to get hold of but I mean I imagine you know if you're making all these other ones you can make that one kind of no we don't make the cologne the temple they made it this guy insists he doesn't make the scent and he's not giving anything away about where the other stuff is coming from these are bigger the tough nut to crack is getting to the guys that Supply him I still need to find the big suppliers around the corner I quiz a guy called Lloyd he's on the street selling perfume I want to know where he's getting it from like 589 . come on it's two different I'll sell them for less more you know I mean sometimes 20 whatever I get don't you tell me what do you buy them for about five dollars each five dollars each where'd you get these from well I'll get it from from people to promote where's that I'm downtown this perfume seems to be everywhere I go and everyone including Lloyd insists it's real Lloyd's tip leads me to a distributor's office on the 14th floor of a building OFF Fifth Avenue in the shadow of the Empire State foreign [Music] acupuncture no perfume I go around the entire floor looking for the distributors but there isn't a whiff of dodgy scent was at least half a dozen other perfume companies in our building but there's no one on the 14th floor so it looks like I've drawn a blank it might be a bit harder than I thought for now the perfume Trail's gone cold but after two days of chasing them I finally made a breakthrough with the pickpockets they've agreed to meet [Music] I'm heading to a bar in Brooklyn with a pickpocketing gang are waiting to meet me [Music] they want to check me out and explain how they operate they're very nervous for repeat offenses pickpockets here can get four years in jail so far they've proved very elusive and I'm not sure if they'll let me into their world I need for you guys to understand what it's really about it's not just about taking money because it's about kind of like speaking of God against the system because the system has ignored us so now we're speaking of gifts and it has to be heard so tourism in America grosses a lot of money you know and since you know the whole the whole the whole gist of it is why should guys people come here and have a good time when the people that lives here doesn't have a good time so that's a very interesting perspective Taurus is not going to stay around long enough to press charges you know to press charges is Lincoln you know and most tourists they don't have the money to stay in New York for months at a time and to come back and forth for court things so that's that's one of the advantages usually so you stay away from Americans depends on what America you're talking about okay Black America yeah only wealthy only the wealthy that's it Robin Hood that's what it is it's like Robin Hood modern day Hyundai Robin Hood it's about taking from those that could be taken from so that's based the whole gista wow okay [Music] foreign [Music] political pickpockets they say Robin hoods stealing from the rich and giving to the poor themselves presumably they certainly talk a good game and we've arranged to meet again tomorrow [Music] everywhere you go on Manhattan Island you see the Empire State Building it's the jewel in New York's crown approach to the great building there are loads of tourists eager to see the unparalleled view from the top along with a load of guys in brightly colored jackets could they be security standard you go in you ate in one two three four five lines yeah Fast Track we bring you in through security you bypass four of the five lines with that you get the view yeah the museum The Sky Ride okay this guy isn't security he's flogging me a ticket okay I mean all I'm interested in is the quickest way to the top 49ers that's definitely you you're quicker than going in the official way yeah okay I know how much is the tax then what's the what's the actual full price 57 bucks for a Sky Ride ticket they're a separate company with their own route to the top of the building the Empire State Building is the official entrance and then there's the entrance to which I've just bought a ticket it costs a little bit more but they say that will get you up in 15 minutes as opposed to more than an hour so my producer Chris and I are going to have a little race [Music] foreign so I go up through the official entrance with my official express Ticket [Music] Chris goes in through the Skyride entrance with the so-called Fast Track ticket and within 20 yards he's waiting in line [Music] while the customers with the expensive Skyride tickets wait downstairs for the lift I'm in like Flynn and up to the 80th floor [Music] I'd line with Chris and it waits while the official ticket holders Swan by and the view of New York is stunning I thoroughly recommend it I wonder how Chris is getting on so by my Reckoning that's it is exactly 19 minutes from the bottom to the top foreign to get up take some pictures and get back down that ticket allowed me to do that in half an hour I think I might be waiting a while for Chris in all it takes two hours for Chris to go up and come back down which gives me enough time to make a couple of calls and set up a meeting with a contact in Chinatown [Music] everybody keeps saying the perfume I bought is real but I need a second opinion I set up a meeting with a former perfume counterfeiter who I meet on the back street in Chinatown he wants to remain anonymous yeah real thing he said exactly the same as you uh would buy in Macy's instead well right off the bat I'll tell you that this does not look authentic you can tell by the lines here normally the companies they spend a lot of time trying to get the package to look absolutely pristine and this right here it doesn't look like that it looks cheap right off the bat so yeah I mean I'll show you the boat there's something when I look to the bottle kind of was a warning sign for me well I mean even yeah look at the small details I mean this doesn't even line up no way I wouldn't even want to spray this on myself or give this to someone as a gift who knows what's in it and where is this ultimately where is all this stuff coming from most of it comes from China specifically Southern China like Guangzhou so the Bangladeshi guys are the sort of middlemen they're the front men that's right absolutely and the Chinese guys yes they're pulling the strings behind that's correct my perfume contact seems sure that the perfume is fake but to prove it I'll need to get into the trade first I'll have to find a willing distributor and then I'll have to set up a deal [Music] I'm back in the Garment District and I'm going to pull a new tactic if I ask for a very large amount of Chanel maybe they'll agree to sell it to me [Music] foreign I may have to completely rethink my tactics or drop the perfume scam altogether this one how did this guy know I was having trouble getting to the suppliers was he following me thank you if they know I've been recording them I'll be in trouble but if I break out now I'll blow my chances following a complete stranger who I just met on the streets of New York to do a dodgy perfume deal is probably not the smartest thing to do hey how are you my friend good good nice to meet you so this guy said you might be able to help me I'm looking for that no idea and if I want to survive number five channel number five okay yeah now this there's no shipping is not for sale I don't have selling quantity it doesn't have to be today okay we can all I can order this yeah then I have to find out yes okay yeah you already then I can write it down in a paper and I can go look for okay let's do that um but this it's all going smoothly then suddenly he doesn't want to take my order those two places I heard they carry a big quantity you can talk to them let me write down my number for this give him the number he's actually going to deal with you I'm gonna buy 2 000 bottles of perfume I'm gonna buy it directly from the guy if you don't want the business that's fine okay so the distributor won't get me 2 000 units and he's piled me off to a guy from the street it doesn't make sense I need an American my new broker who I met on the street is a Haitian who I'll call George yeah I understand that man I appreciate that I'm happy to pay you a commission if I do a deal that's that's no problem but I have to find what I'm looking for you understand you can be working for the company they don't know you they're not going to trust you I tell you the truth how he's learning yeah your channel you take my number anytime you're ready even you need five thousand ten thousand even right now you need five thousand I can give you five thousand China you can get it you wanted to react now I can get you that right now okay you give me a price right now two thousand two thousand dollars of Chanel Number Five is too much too much how much five bucks a piece I'm not gonna get it for five dollars so you're gonna get it for five dollars I'm gonna get in more than that what are you gonna get it for me yeah you ten dollars and you want to make how much I make 13. 11. an email that's 11 bucks a piece now you ready now I'm ready you've got the money for you I don't know the money on me but no I'm ready though I'm not gonna walk around there with 20 grand on me yeah I've got 20 grand in my hotel it's fine Chanel Number Five I'm standing on a street corner agreeing to a 22 000 perfume deal with a complete stranger if I pull this off I'll be in the illicit perfume trade but why did he agree to this so readily and if it happens here all the time are the streets of New York really so clean why am I here well saying that I wanted to buy 2 000 bottles of expensive perfume so I've left it with him because he says people trust him he's going to see if he can find 2 000 units we've agreed a price of eleven dollars clearly counterfeit and he's going to call me back I say I'm a bit nervous about turning up to meet a guy with twenty two thousand dollars in my pocket though while I'm waiting for news from my perfume broker I've got time for a rendezvous with the pickpocket gang yesterday after the meeting I wasn't sure if I'd see them again but they've called to arrange a meeting in a bar in Brooklyn and I'm heading over there they're going to give me a demonstration of their pickpocketing techniques I agree on the basis that any money they steal they give back before we meet them we get rigged up one two three four guys over there who are ready to go into the bar and do a lift from someone's bag once they see the right victim we're going in as a crew so as soon as something gets stolen we're gonna see it we know the lookout and the security guard are already there but the pickpocket will come in later one of the pickpockets befriends a woman at the bar he's there to distract her attention her bag is hanging over the seat behind her after half an hour of waiting and knowing what's about to happen the gang turn up they've chosen this bar because it's so dark the main pickpocket known as the Dipper and his accomplice weight at the back our mics pick up their chat is it the end of the bar we'll just go on both sides and we're in order drinks bar is busy and the customers carry on oblivious the woman remains distracted and when the moment is right the Dipper strikes in the dark Split Second her wallet is his instantly the gang leave around the corner they hand the bag back to us and disappear into the night after filming we contacted the woman in the bar and made sure she got her money back well it seems in New York you're always being watched you know even sitting in a bar like that one you leave your bag over the back of your chair get distracted by the person talking next to you and your wallet it's gone all too easily While most people are enjoying a normal morning in Manhattan I've got a possibly dangerous deal to complete but my Haitian broker appears to have gone to ground [Music] hey Breezy again yeah thanks for coming down I've been uh encountering various scams in New York one that kind of found me really was selling perfume saying it's kind of real perfume when in fact it's fake perfume I told people that I was looking for 2 000 bottles of Chanel Number Five okay my concern is that that's a lot of money it's 22 Grand and am I going to turn up and meet this guy again with 22 Grand in my pocket this is New York you know be careful like they're looking for anyone that seems eager you want to make it back across the water you know be careful where you're going and who you're allowing to know you know I have this much money on me and I want this perfume and you can't really trust everybody like that you know even if I turn it without the money the fact that he's expecting me to have the money or even there's a possibility that I have the money that he shows up with the actual merchandise and then you're looking like a little more than you know unprepared leave that one alone take my word on that one what's the worst that could happen crazy you don't want to end up floating in the East River or bumping into anybody's boat and we're wondering you know who's not doing who's that guy there [Music] leave that one alone maybe Breezy has a point [Music] sleeping with the fishes in the East River is not exactly how I saw my future but I've come too far to let it go there's a man waiting for me with 22 000 worth of fake Chanel Number Five after a restless night dreaming about boats on the East River I decide to take a chance I have to know whether he's come up with the goods and to see if he can take me further along this fake perfume Trail Breezy said to stay clear of these guys but they're the only people that I know who are going to give me the lowdown on what's going on in this counterfeit perfume industry so I'm going to go back talk to him one more time it's business as usual this morning down in the Garment District but my guy won't return my calls does he have cold feet too or is he working out an angle on how to rip me off he's nowhere to be seen But the Lookouts and the runners are yeah another guy I mean the tall guy yeah he's around it won't be long before they spot what we're doing I can't hang around for too long then from nowhere just like before he appears hey my friend hey oh yeah remember me you never called me anybody you coming and talking about thousand five hundred they're not gonna believe it yeah no I don't work for the company and I don't work for the police I know but you know what I do I make I make uh TV shows from his reaction that's not what he expected to hear when you get over there you change the subject me I come here to Australia you know I don't have time to waste yeah listen I don't want to waste your time you want to come and get off the street you want to come talk to me how can you wait here you can't I will get killed yeah okay we decide to move away from the Lookouts to somewhere much more discreet I'm not sure how much he'll give away he'll take some persuading to come clean listen if if I ask you anything that you're not comfortable you want to say I can't tell you that that's fine just just say I can't tell you that on the way he goes to grab a drink he's clearly terrified really really nervous about talking to me he says everyone here is watching everybody else and so we're gonna go around the corner and he's going to explain to me a little bit more about what's going on here in the counterfeit perfume industry finally we settle outside a police station where my Haitian friend feels more comfortable who is it you're scared of you didn't want to talk over there I'm just wondering who is it that you're scared of which people are you scared of the agent from your perfume you know sometimes the other people I would say do and is it always a fake perfume right and where does it come from from the the German people or you know aware of the delivery deliveries come in yeah like Bitcoin big onesies yes what sort of price do you think they're buying them in for they're certainly like in 12 hours maybe the bike for maybe four hours because you have to double the money whatever perfume you see here they're all safe it's nothing original all of it is fake all of them is fake all imported from China whatever perfect you sit there on Broadway they are is fit for me it's very dangerous in my life you think it's online why are you now they know they came they will kill them [Applause] [Music] so I guess our deal is off but I have my answer this is a massive scam and it could be way too dangerous to go deeper into on my own it's all been a shock for my contacts [Music] when I started looking for scams in New York I thought maybe the Big Apple had cleaned up but while some of the tourist scams are fairly harmless others are operating on a commercial scale who knew that the average tourists on the hunt for a bargain would be two degrees of separation from crime New York still has its gangs but they're a lot harder to find [Music] [Applause] thank you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 601,971

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), scam city, scams, new york scammer, new york, new york scams, manhattan, manhattan scams

Id: gJAQ8MD4e5I

Length: 47min 51sec (2871 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 30 2022