Channel 4 - Secrets of the Scammers (2013)

Secrets of the Scammers

From the 'three cup trick' to the 'bogus cop' scam, to the sophisticated online computer scams that cost Britons an estimated £3.5 billion a year, it seems scammers are everywhere. This one-off special reveals the tricks of a trade so widespread that it represents a crime epidemic in the UK. Half the population was targeted by would-be scammers last year - on the street, in their homes and online. But not everyone has given up in the face of this scamming crime wave. This film features exclusive access to the police units targeting criminals on the streets of the capital, and to a group of 'scam baiters' - concerned citizens who make it their mission to waste the online scammers' time and resources in order to deter them from targeting others. One group of scam baiters is followed as they communicate with a bogus gold dealer in West Africa and attempt to arrange a meeting with him at an obscure location in Cornwall, while a former scam artist reveals some of the latest ingenious techniques used to dupe the innocent.

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