- 2 days ago
Scam City S02E08 United Kingdom-London
Category
🦄
CreativityTranscript
00:00They're the world's greatest cities, famous for their culture and beauty.
00:06But there's something else waiting in the shadows.
00:09The scammers, the hustlers, the thieves, and they're all looking for tourists to con.
00:16State against the what? Russian roulette. Are you joking me?
00:19I'm Connor Woodman, and in Scam City, I set myself up as bait.
00:24This is like being kidnapped.
00:26A willing victim to be fleeced.
00:28I'll catch the scammers in the act.
00:30Do you know where my wallet is? I don't know.
00:32And reveal the tricks of the trade.
00:34Sorry, I'm not talking about that.
00:35Because why? It's too dangerous.
00:37And I'll expose them face to face.
00:40We are filming you scamming me.
00:42Scam City. I get scammed, so you don't have to.
00:52Police. Police.
00:53What? What have I done to you?
00:56I'm in Amsterdam, and things have taken an unexpected turn.
01:01I tell you, I'm not telling you, I'm just fighting against the wall.
01:04What are you doing to me? What have I done?
01:22400 years ago, Amsterdam was the richest city in the world.
01:28Money poured in from world trade, leaving a legacy of neatly ordered townhouses stretched along picturesque canals.
01:37And a vibrant red light district.
01:43Nowadays, more than 5 million tourists flood into the city each year.
01:48Many of them drawn to the red light area like moths to a flame.
01:53And waiting for them are the scammers.
01:59Well, this is a city I used to know pretty well, because I used to come here a lot when
02:03I was younger.
02:03And I can honestly say, in all my travels, it's one of the darkest places I've visited.
02:09So it's nice to be back.
02:25While most major cities have their pickpockets, I've heard in Amsterdam it's been elevated to a fine art form.
02:35And I want to catch one in the act.
02:40I'm in Dam Square, one of the city's famous tourist hotspots.
02:49A perfect hunting ground for pickpockets.
02:56I've put my fake wallet in my back pocket, ready for action.
03:07Three, two, one, up!
03:22Except for the street performer, it seems like no one else is working the crowds.
03:28Right, Europe, the choice center, make it in.
03:40Dam Square didn't deliver.
03:43Time to check out another tourist magnet, Blumenmarkt, the flower market.
03:51I take tram 5, a popular tourist route.
04:07And success.
04:09My wallet's just been lifted.
04:13The crew tip me off that it's the woman behind me.
04:22So where are we going?
04:23Sorry?
04:24Where are we going?
04:25I don't know.
04:25Where are you going?
04:27Well, I need my money, so I'm going wherever you're going.
04:30Which money?
04:32Which money?
04:33Huh?
04:34Which money?
04:34My money.
04:35Where's your money?
04:36In my wallet.
04:37Where's your wallet?
04:38You know where my wallet is.
04:40I don't know.
04:40I know where my wallet is.
04:42We could go on like this forever.
04:44We might as well do it somewhere comfortable.
04:47How about we go for coffee?
04:48I'm buying.
04:49You're buying?
04:51Well, I haven't exactly lost it, because I kind of still know where it is.
04:56Who?
04:57Yeah.
04:58I'm Connor, by the way.
05:00Hi.
05:00Agatha.
05:01Agatha.
05:02Hi, Agatha.
05:03Eva.
05:03Eva.
05:03I know Agatha has my wallet, but she's playing hard to get.
05:09What is your profession?
05:11I do administration, and I work with the homeless.
05:14Okay.
05:15That's interesting.
05:16How long have you been doing that?
05:17For a long time.
05:19I used to be homeless.
05:20So I help those people to the benefit of my misery.
05:25All right.
05:26How long were you homeless for?
05:27I was seven years homeless.
05:29Seven years?
05:30How did you make a little extra money, then?
05:33Um, do some jobs.
05:36Somebody asked me to do some things for them, and I do.
05:39I mean, I'm good at writing letters.
05:42Yeah, good with your hands.
05:44I can't type.
05:45I don't know what you mean.
05:47You start to be on a dirty sleazy tour, or what?
05:49That wasn't what I was getting at.
05:50I'm good at talking.
05:52We have to get out here.
05:53I've got to get out, too.
05:54Yeah.
05:54Okay.
05:54Yeah.
06:02So, anyway, about my wallet.
06:04Are we going to give me my wallet back?
06:05We don't have your wallet.
06:06Oh, come on.
06:07Okay, how about you keep the wallet, but we can just go for a coffee and finish our chat.
06:12I don't have a wallet, but if you want to buy us coffee, you can buy us coffee.
06:16Okay, that's cool.
06:16Let's go for a coffee, then.
06:19She can keep my wallet in exchange for information about the city's red light districts.
06:26You know what it is?
06:27This was always an area for prostitutes for getting scammed for everything.
06:31It started to become more aggressive.
06:34So, now for 10 euros, you have to be careful.
06:36You don't get a knife on your throat.
06:38I mean, in the last couple of years, a lot of girls are killed who work on the streets.
06:42Yeah.
06:43I mean, it's getting worse and worse.
06:48And you have to remember, there always will be people who are abusing drugs and are addicted.
06:54Oh, yeah.
06:54And I mean, if they don't have any possibility, they start, like a cat in the dark, start to do
06:59crazy things.
07:01You do what you have to do to survive as a woman.
07:03I mean, if you don't want to go into prostitution, you have to find other ways.
07:07Is my pig focusing?
07:08We know some.
07:10You have to go to Central Station.
07:12Yeah.
07:12Well, anyway, we have to go.
07:15So, it was nice meeting you.
07:17It was nice meeting you.
07:18Have a nice day.
07:19Bye.
07:20And there they go with my wallet.
07:28So, it seems there can be a sinister edge to this city's anything-goes culture.
07:48I'm on my way to meet a former hustler who worked these streets for 17 years.
07:57If there is a dark side here, he'll know all about it.
08:11Oh, wait, mate.
08:13Watch where you're going, man.
08:15Pay me, pay me, pay me, pay me, pay me.
08:18Mate, I'm sorry you dropped your bottle, mate.
08:20Come, come, come, motherfucker.
08:22Oh, you banged into me.
08:23I'm sorry that happened.
08:24Give me my money for my drug.
08:26I'm sorry that happened.
08:27Give me my money.
08:28What money, what money, what money?
08:30Give me my money for the drug.
08:31This is clearly a con.
08:33I feel like I'm getting stung here.
08:35What was it?
08:36Give me my money.
08:37It's a crude but clever trick.
08:39Give me my money.
08:40Probably wasn't even real whiskey.
08:43Give me my money.
08:44Is it full bottle?
08:45Yeah, full bottle.
08:46Give me my money.
08:47How much money do you want?
08:48Where to go wrong?
08:49Got some change?
08:50I only have a 50.
08:51Yeah, I'm not happy.
08:52I'm not happy.
08:53I'd say that 50.
08:55Go, go.
09:00I pay over the odds, knowing it's a rip-off.
09:04But I'm in a hurry.
09:09I'm late for my meeting with the one-time street hustler.
09:20Good evening.
09:22No.
09:22Hi, Connor.
09:23How are you?
09:24I'm fine.
09:24How are you?
09:25I'm good, man.
09:25Nice to meet you.
09:26I believe you know the streets of Amsterdam pretty well.
09:30I do, yes.
09:32I know them very well because there was a time I was addicted to cocaine and heroin.
09:39And at that time, I spent 17 years here in this area to hustling, making money, and to use drugs.
09:47What kind of hustles did you do?
09:49Okay.
09:50I was especially focused on foreigners.
09:53I knew they were coming fresh tourists to the city.
09:56Okay.
09:56So I knew I can make good money to provide my needs for drugs.
10:01So every weekend you'd get fresh blood coming in?
10:05Yeah, every weekend, especially on the holidays and in the weekends.
10:08Okay.
10:08They are vulnerable because they don't know what's going on all in the city.
10:12And especially when they are under influence, they can be an easy target.
10:17What sort of cheats and hustles did you do on tourists?
10:21I was focused on selling them nap dope, we call it here, you know, fake drugs.
10:25But how does the fake dope work?
10:27It's something what a dentist use.
10:29When you put it on your tongue, it makes your mouth immediately numb.
10:33And a lot of people think it is real cocaine, but it is rubbish.
10:38Fake drugs and buyers with no idea what they're taking.
10:42That could be interesting.
10:44But if I want to go out and get myself in a bit of trouble, where's the good areas for
10:47me to go?
10:48If you want trouble, you should go outside the area where the cameras are hanging.
10:52And you pretend you are a little bit drunk and looking everywhere,
10:56so they know, oh, this guy doesn't know where, he's not from here, he's an outsider.
11:00For sure, they will approach you in one way or the other to get money out of you.
11:15This city has a fairy tale prettiness to it.
11:23But we all know in fairy tales, you're never far from something hiding in the shadows.
11:55Last night, I was told that scammers in Amsterdam are as prevalent as ever.
12:01Targeting tourist party-goers in the city's red light district.
12:09Tonight, I'm going to play the vulnerable tourist, with the hope of finding some trouble.
12:19But for now, the crew and I head towards Amsterdam's famous floating flower market, the Bloemenmarkt.
12:33Some countries are famous for their food, others, wine.
12:38Holland, tulips.
12:40Over three billion are grown each year.
12:43What better souvenir to take home?
12:52So in here, 55 tulips, seven euros, 50.
12:56It's got 55 there, only got 100 here, 155 tulips.
13:00Be all right?
13:02Beautiful Amsterdam tulips.
13:04Fifteen euros.
13:07That sounds like a good deal.
13:09Almost too good to be true.
13:11Cheers.
13:12That's enough souvenir shopping.
13:14I think it's safe to say my garden next year will look blooming marvellous.
13:27Agatha, the woman who stole my wallet yesterday, told me Central Station is at Pickpockets Playground.
13:35So that's where I'm heading next.
13:45250,000 people pass through here every day.
13:49It's the gateway to Amsterdam.
13:54I'm trying a different strategy.
13:57I've planted a note in my new wallet with my phone number and the offer of a reward.
14:03If someone steals it, hopefully this will bait them to call.
14:07Excuse me, you don't know where the Rembrandt plane is?
14:10The Rembrandt?
14:11Rembrandt plane.
14:13Oh, no, sorry.
14:15Police are crawling all over this station.
14:20Surely Pickpockets wouldn't take the chance.
14:30Sorry, you don't know where the Rembrandt plane is?
14:32Rembrandt Square.
14:33Yes, it's what?
14:36That way, all the way, all the way, all the way, all the way, all the way, all the way.
14:40Okay.
14:40You see the signs?
14:41Rembrandt Square.
14:42Thank you very much.
14:44I'm starting to doubt Agatha's tip off.
14:52Are you looking for a hotel?
14:54Are you looking for a Rembrandt plane?
14:57Rembrandt Square, just a moment, because, well, I need my glasses, so I don't have a glass
15:03at the moment, but go direct by the damn street.
15:08Are you lost?
15:09No, you're asking for Rembrandt Square, but I don't have my glasses, so I'm trying, because
15:15the central station's just, yeah, you just have to follow, you can also take one of those
15:22trams, and I'm going to the Rembrandt Square.
15:26That's great, thank you.
15:27It's gone.
15:28What?
15:30The wallet's gone.
15:31It's gone.
15:31The wallet's gone.
15:32The wallet's gone.
15:33He's taken the wallet.
15:33He's taken the wallet.
15:37That was good.
15:39I didn't feel a thing.
15:41But where's he gone?
15:47He's vanished.
15:51He even managed to shake the crew.
15:54She approached, and he came round the back of me and took the wallet.
16:00And then he just, he was gone.
16:05Ah.
16:12Well, we filmed it happening, but we lost the pickpocket.
16:15So, he did half of it, right?
16:17Now, I guess we just have to hope he calls the number on the piece of paper.
16:30I'm back at the hotel where I left my tulips.
16:34And I think I've unearthed another scam.
16:38There was something about this bag of tulips that I bought that felt light to me.
16:41So, I counted, and there's only 70 in here when there should be 100.
16:45I did the same again with this bag.
16:47There should be 55.
16:48There's only 39, which is 25 to 30% less than there should be.
16:54So, I'm going to go back and investigate further.
17:01Exported tulips are worth around 300 million euros to the Dutch economy every year.
17:07This is big business.
17:16Hey, how are you doing?
17:17Good.
17:17And you?
17:18Good.
17:18Connor.
17:19Hi, tell me.
17:19I bought a few bags of tulips from here.
17:21The 100 bags have got 70, 75 in.
17:25Oh.
17:25The 55 bags have got 39 in.
17:30You really don't know?
17:31No, no, I don't know.
17:32How many do you buy?
17:33One of these?
17:35I can't believe this is a surprise to you.
17:37No, because I buy the thing from the company.
17:40Yeah.
17:41And I put it in the selling.
17:42And you never count your own bulk?
17:44I don't count the bulk.
17:45Never?
17:46You just...
17:46You see, you don't have time to count every bag.
17:48But you never counted one bag?
17:50No, sir.
17:51You don't have time to count one bag?
17:52I don't do it.
17:53Count that bag.
17:54I don't want to say, but I don't do it.
17:57I have the machine to do.
17:59He's in no hurry to count them to see if what I'm saying is even true.
18:03And he doesn't seem surprised by my accusations.
18:07I know you know.
18:08You know I know you know.
18:10What do you think?
18:12Otherwise, why didn't you count them now?
18:13Just a check.
18:14I could be into a lot of your stock.
18:16Look, that's one, two, three, four shelves, all of those ones over there.
18:19You never did one check, ever.
18:21Why?
18:22Because you're being ripped off 30%.
18:24If what you say is true, you're buying 70 when you think you're buying 100.
18:29Exactly.
18:29I have to call the company.
18:31What happened with this thing?
18:32And will you change your sign to 39 bulbs?
18:34Exactly.
18:35For 750.
18:36Exactly.
18:36You really didn't know?
18:37No, I don't know, sir.
18:39I think you must know.
18:40I can't believe you don't know.
18:42What's your name?
18:43Connor.
18:44Connor.
18:44And your name?
18:45Philip.
18:46Philip.
18:47Bon.
18:50There's a man with nothing to hide.
18:52Nothing to hide.
18:53Not even his name.
18:55No.
19:05Well, he didn't exactly admit there's a scam going on there, but it was quite revealing
19:09that he didn't feel the need to check how many bulbs were in the bag, and he's in no rush
19:13to call his supplier, and until he does, every tourist buying bulbs there is going to do
19:17exactly what I did and get ripped off.
19:32I've been pickpocketed twice since I arrived here.
19:37Have I just been unlucky, or is street crime here more organised?
19:44I'm going to meet an ex-undercover cop, who might be able to shed some light on the city's
19:49criminals.
19:54Do you think the problems got worse, or do you think it's improved a bit?
19:57Well, absolutely, it got worse.
20:00There were always pickpockets, but that was a much smaller group.
20:05What we see now is that those groups are from other countries, specific from Eastern Europe.
20:11And are they operating as gangs?
20:13They operate as a kind of gang, very often, and they know each other.
20:17They also have contacts with those people on the taxi bikes, and these are also Romanians.
20:24They receive very often the goods, and so there is a kind of contact.
20:29If we talk about pickpockets, the tourist who is in the tram, for example, and going to a
20:36certain place, or people who are in a restaurant with an iPhone on the table, and these are real
20:43first victims.
20:44So my hunch was right.
20:46I wasn't just unlucky.
20:48There are gangs operating in the red light district.
20:50The gangs in the red light district do get their money from big business, soft drugs,
20:57and also hard drugs.
20:59And that's also related very often to high Moroccan dealers.
21:04I mean, now that they're operating as gangs, do they kind of behave in a different way?
21:08Has it become more aggressive?
21:09Nowadays, we do have more violence.
21:12A lot of people nowadays get killed.
21:13Moroccan guys get killed because of drug deals.
21:17We had, in one day, two guys killed in Amsterdam West.
21:21I shot a bit of Kolasnikov.
21:23Wow.
21:23Heavy stuff.
21:24That is heavy stuff.
21:25As a tourist, you're not that far removed from this.
21:28Absolutely.
21:29Absolutely.
21:39Agatha talked about knives.
21:41Kais is talking about AK-47s.
21:45This is hardcore stuff.
21:48Either way, there seems to be some organisation at work, which means tourists could be one step
21:54away from a criminal network.
22:16Amsterdam's red light district is one of the few places in the world where the sale of sex
22:20and soft drugs is openly tolerated.
22:28It's not hard to see why tourists get distracted.
22:36Mo, my ex-hustler friend I met earlier, used to sell fake drugs here.
22:43Cook, are you?
22:44Cook?
22:44Yes, yes.
22:46I wonder if the dealers are still playing that game.
22:55It's illegal to deal drugs on the street here, but where there's demand, there's supply.
23:02And real or fake, tourists are willing to take the risk.
23:07The place is packed, and it doesn't take long before I'm approached.
23:20But I don't want drugs.
23:21I want information.
23:23Let me see.
23:24I don't trust this man.
23:25He's with me, he's with me.
23:26He's with me, yeah.
23:30No police, no this shit, eh?
23:32I'm not the English police in Amsterdam.
23:35Where you going?
23:39This isn't going to be easy.
23:44They don't want to talk.
23:45They just want to make money.
23:48How are you doing?
23:49Yeah, fine, fine, fine.
23:50Yeah?
23:51It takes some persuasion, but eventually I get one of the dealers to open up.
23:57You work by phone?
23:58Yeah.
23:58Okay.
23:58So you have regular customers?
24:00Yeah.
24:01And what do they buy mostly?
24:02Coke?
24:03Coke, sometimes ecstasy, sometimes heroin, sometimes crack.
24:08You have it all?
24:09I can get all.
24:11All right.
24:12Okay.
24:12He's a mobile pharmacist, but you don't need a prescription.
24:16So you think, if I went up to just some random guy who offers me Coke, if I pretend to
24:22be
24:22drunk, you think he'll give me a fake one?
24:24If I'm straight, he'll give me a real one?
24:26They're always going to try to give you first a fake one.
24:29A guy who is drunk, he don't know the difference what is fake or...
24:34But how much money are these guys making?
24:38Some guys make even $1,500 one night with it.
24:41$1,500 one night?
24:42$1,500 without them.
24:45That's a lot of cash.
24:47Drugs and money can be a dangerous mix.
24:49Do you carry a weapon?
24:51For what?
24:52Protection.
24:52Yeah.
24:54And do you have someone looking out for you?
24:56Of course you have guys who know each other.
24:58You know, look, I know guys here, if I get in a fight, I know.
25:01If they see me, they're going to come and jump.
25:04But they'll protect you?
25:06It's not like protecting me.
25:07They know me.
25:08Yeah, okay.
25:09A group of guys looking out for each other.
25:12That sounds like a gang to me.
25:14And I'm now on a deadline.
25:16You're on a deadline?
25:17Yeah.
25:18You've got to sell some stuff to make some money.
25:20Yeah, I have to pay stuff for...
25:21You know, I...
25:23Okay.
25:24Okay, okay, okay, okay.
25:25I've taken up too much of your time already.
25:38When the bars close, trade hits its peak.
25:42I'm going to the main strip to see if I can find other dealers.
25:58Police, police, police, police.
26:00Get out of the way.
26:01What?
26:03What are you doing?
26:03What are you doing?
26:04I'm not doing anything.
26:05What are you doing, mate?
26:06What are you doing to me?
26:08I'm getting frisked for drugs.
26:10But he's not going to find anything.
26:12I was only talking to the drug dealer.
26:16What are you doing to me?
26:18What have I done?
26:19I haven't done anything wrong.
26:21There's something not quite right about this.
26:24Stay there.
26:24Stay there.
26:25I haven't done anything wrong.
26:26Look at the other side.
26:27Stay there.
26:28Can you explain to me what I've done?
26:29Stay the fuck with your head there.
26:30Explain to me what I've done.
26:32Okay.
26:32Now it's starting to get heavy.
26:34Stay there.
26:35Have I really just been hit in the face by the police?
26:38What have I done to you?
26:39Stay against the wall.
26:40Stay against the wall.
26:41I will tell you after.
26:42Play against the wall.
26:43Tell me what I've done.
26:44Against the wall.
26:45Tell me what I've done.
26:46Now where are you going?
26:52He's taking my wallet.
26:56That's a new one.
26:57A fake cop.
26:59Robbery with a clever twist.
27:02Anyone who had just bought drugs from that dealer
27:04would be a soft target.
27:22He's gone.
27:22He's gone.
27:23I don't know where he's gone.
27:24He's disappeared.
27:26The wallet's gone.
27:31I said he was the policeman.
27:33He showed me some ideas.
27:34He's quite physical with me.
27:35When I went after him, he's just disappeared into that alley.
27:38And now I've no idea where he's gone.
27:41And he's nicked my wallet.
27:54Short-counted tulips, fake drugs, a fake cop, and three lost wallets.
28:06Amsterdam is proving to be an interesting place.
28:26Last night, I met some of the wolves who add bite to this fairy tale city.
28:33There's beauty everywhere you look,
28:35but some of the characters are straight from the Brothers Grimm.
28:46But I'm on a roll.
28:47I've just received a call from the guy who says he stole my wallet at Central Station.
28:57We arranged to meet on the edge of the red light district.
29:00We arranged to meet on the edge of the red light.
29:31I'm not completely surprised.
29:33Meeting me must feel like a risky move.
29:36Maybe he got cold feet.
29:51I'm going back into the heart of the city.
29:56Let's see how organized these dealers really are.
30:09This time, I'm taking my producer as my wingman.
30:18We order a couple of beers, blend in with the crowds, and wait for the dealers to approach us.
30:28But the night takes an unexpected turn.
30:35I just tried to take some money out of an ATM machine, but something went wrong.
30:42I put my card in, but no cash came out, even though I could hear the machine whirling round.
30:50So, we're staking out the bank, waiting to see if anything happens.
31:03A couple of minutes later, two guys approach the same ATM.
31:14They did not put a card in that machine.
31:17They did not put a card in that machine.
31:19They were there for about two seconds.
31:23What do you reckon? They didn't know.
31:24Come on, let's go after them.
31:27Quick, quick, quick, quick.
31:34Hey, how you doing?
31:35Hey, you all right?
31:37How you doing?
31:39You went straight after me, and you...
31:46Tell me, what do you do?
31:48How does that work?
31:51No, come back, come back, show me it.
31:53I put my card in, no money came out, the thing was sealed over the top.
31:57And then you guys went over, and then you didn't seem to put a card in, you walked away with
32:02a little bit of money.
32:03I'm just wondering whether that was my money.
32:05Can I see your card?
32:08Come back and show me.
32:09He's with me, yeah, he's with me.
32:12Come back, show me, please, show me how you do this.
32:15On the basis that we won't reveal their identity, they agree to tell me about the bank job they've just
32:20pulled off.
32:22I put my card in the ATM, no money comes out.
32:25Oh, you push them, it's a brocation.
32:27This was the barrier.
32:29It's that simple, you just glue that over the front of the ATM and the money sticks to it.
32:34And then you just, what, you just go and pull it off?
32:36Yeah.
32:38Easy money.
32:40And where did you learn this?
32:45From a friend or from a family or who?
32:50When did you first start doing this?
32:54They may not be the Jesse James gang, but it must be a lucrative scam to be worth the risk.
33:01If you're doing this, I mean, even every night and you're making, I don't know, three, four, five hundred euros
33:07a night, it's a lot of money.
33:09I can see this is, this could be a really good scam for making a lot of cash.
33:22But what about in the tourist areas?
33:24Tourists aici vin și scot 20 de euro, am spus și mai înainte.
33:3120 de euro, most tourists I know take out a lot more than that.
33:35Do you worry about the banks?
33:44Good luck, man.
33:45See you.
33:56I wouldn't trust them as well as I could throw them, and I definitely don't believe that they only do
33:59it every now and again and they get 20 or 40 euros from it.
34:03That is one of the simplest scams I've ever seen and potentially one of the most lucrative.
34:19It seems like there's a new scam on every corner around here.
34:26But it's still the fake drugs that intrigue me the most.
34:56Maybe the locals can help.
35:01Oh, you make pain for me?
35:02Wow.
35:03Wow.
35:04OK.
35:05But the girls are only interested in one thing, business.
35:11And it's not the business I'm looking for.
35:21What's up, guys?
35:22Yo.
35:23We're going to help.
35:24OK?
35:24What do you need?
35:25I've got some good food.
35:26If you want some ecstasy, I've got some ecstasy.
35:29If you want this, I've got some that.
35:32I can fix you everything.
35:34Look at my face.
35:35I don't play.
35:37You know?
35:39Now, this guy's business is the business I'm interested in.
35:43And better still, he's happy to talk.
35:48If you want, we take a walk.
35:50I'll show you some things around.
35:51Then you can understand the life that's happening.
35:54Yeah, man.
35:56Let's take a walk.
35:57No problem.
35:58Let's take a walk.
35:59No problem.
36:01You know what the thing is?
36:03Everybody who comes here is looking for money.
36:06You can make more money from fake stuff because it's easy money.
36:10Yeah.
36:10You give the people nothing and you get the money.
36:13You get the money.
36:15You can put a lot of things inside and cut the stuff, you know?
36:19Yeah.
36:19And then when you go taste the stuff, it's just like coke.
36:26It's just like coke, but it's hospital coke.
36:29It's hospital coke?
36:30Hospital coke.
36:30What's hospital coke?
36:32It makes your tongue go none.
36:33But it's not really coke.
36:34You know what's going on.
36:35But it's not one of the flesh.
36:38At last, the real deal.
36:40Or better, the fake deal.
36:43How much is the hospital coke?
36:44The hospital coke I sell for 30 grand.
36:4630 euro one gram.
36:47And how much do you buy that for?
36:492 euro one gram.
36:50Normal, my friend.
36:52Okay.
36:52That's normal.
36:53And what other fake drugs do you have?
36:55Ecstasy?
36:55Heroin?
36:56Ecstasy.
36:56Heroin.
36:57You have fake heroin.
36:59Fake ecstasy.
37:00You have fake cocaine.
37:02Fake grass.
37:03Grass that is...
37:04You smoke it.
37:05Don't do nothing.
37:06Okay.
37:09Fake drugs.
37:11But not at fake prices.
37:14And it's a seller's market.
37:17You sell all of those to tourists?
37:19It's on the street.
37:21You know?
37:22Yeah.
37:22If you just want it, you give it.
37:25Because why?
37:26You need the money.
37:27Yeah.
37:28I don't need nothing else.
37:29Yeah.
37:30I need only the money.
37:31I don't need friends.
37:32Nothing.
37:33I need money.
37:35If they're really drunk, do they even notice?
37:37They don't taste nothing.
37:39That's the whole thing.
37:40Let's take a walk.
37:41Okay.
37:41Because my tongue is dry, you have to give me a drink now.
37:44Okay, let's go for a drink.
37:45Let me talk too much.
37:46Let's go for a drink.
37:52Let's go, man.
37:56What I'm going to tell you, if you walk here in Amsterdam, you know, like a tourist, you're
38:01a target for everybody.
38:04Even the oldest woman who walks like this, see you like a target.
38:08Why?
38:09Because you are, son.
38:10Because you're new in town.
38:11Smell it.
38:12Right.
38:13You're the tourist, I'm the hustler.
38:16Yeah.
38:16You know, I look for money, you look for fun.
38:19You get the fun, I get the money.
38:32A simple trade between willing partners.
38:38He gets the money, but I'm not sure how much fun it is for the victim.
39:02Amsterdam.
39:04A 24-hour party town where anything goes, especially your money.
39:20As I head back to the hotel, I get an unexpected surprise when I spot a familiar face.
39:26The fake cop who stole my wallet.
39:36Come on, let's go over.
39:40Here's you.
39:41I thought I recognized you.
39:42What?
39:43Who are you?
39:44Mr. Police Officer from the alley.
39:46What the fuck you want, Dan?
39:48What the fuck you want?
39:49And what's wrong with you?
39:50Nothing wrong with me.
39:51What's the problem?
39:51No problem.
39:52What are you looking for?
39:53After a few polite denials, he's another one happy to open up.
39:59That's the ID that you were carrying with you the other night, isn't it?
40:02Yeah.
40:03So?
40:04Can I see that again?
40:05I didn't get a close look at it the other night because it was dark.
40:07See?
40:08It's not a police ID though, is it?
40:10I'm not for the policeman.
40:11You're not a policeman?
40:12No.
40:13And your wallet is also gone, so...
40:15Hey, don't worry.
40:16I don't want the wallet.
40:17It's fine.
40:17How long have you been doing that?
40:19A long time.
40:20Maybe like 15 years ago.
40:23And how often can you pull off the fake policeman scan?
40:26Three, four times a week.
40:28And what's the most you got in one hit?
40:32Maybe 10,000.
40:35One thing's for sure, everyone is making money out of tourists here, and not from selling
40:41clogs.
40:42What other kind of things are you involved in?
40:45Rubberies, gambling, also drugs, fake drugs.
40:49As long as I'm a tourist, there's money.
40:51It's my work, you know?
40:53I've got to make money.
40:54I've got to survive.
40:56You ever been caught?
40:57I've been in jail in France for six years.
40:59Six years?
41:00Yeah, for smuggling hash, 175 kilos.
41:04From Morocco to Holland.
41:06That was my work before.
41:08Now I'm a little bit retired.
41:11So robbing people like me is just his pension plan.
41:15So within that red light district, all you guys, you all know each other?
41:19You're kind of looking out for each other?
41:20Yeah, we all know each other, yeah.
41:21It's like a game.
41:23You can call it that, yeah.
41:24One day you help me, another day I help you.
41:27You ever get invited people?
41:29Yeah, it happens sometimes, but you lose.
41:31It's my fucking city.
41:32It's my area.
41:34You cannot come in my house and think you can hit me.
41:38And me, I can stand up for myself.
41:41But there are always people behind me.
41:43If something happens, they jump in.
41:46You won't see where they come from.
41:49Tell your friends to watch out for Tony.
41:52And his friend.
41:54And my friend here, Ahmed, tell him to watch out.
41:57Fine, it's worth it.
41:59See ya.
42:00Nice to meet you.
42:00Take care.
42:01Watch yourself.
42:02All right.
42:03See ya.
42:03Bye, man.
42:08Amsterdam's divided right down the middle,
42:10with tourists on one side and on the other,
42:12guys like Tony and Ahmed and the rest of his gang,
42:15just waiting to rip them off.
42:37They may look like rogue operators who act independently,
42:41but they're actually part of a loose network.
42:45It's like I'm being passed from thief to thief,
42:49and everyone takes a bite out of me.
43:01But I still don't know how organized they are.
43:06And then I get a phone call.
43:09Bye.
43:16Well, I finally managed to track down the guy that pickpocketed me
43:19outside a central station,
43:21and I've got what I hope is his address.
43:23I've got a lot of questions I want to ask him
43:25about pickpocketing here in Amsterdam
43:26and how it fits in with everything else that's going on here.
43:38Hi.
43:39He's invited me over for a cup of tea.
43:41Come on. Come in.
43:42Feed us all.
43:43Hey, thank you.
43:46When did you start pickpocketing?
43:48Oh, well.
43:50Did you start in Sao Paulo?
43:52To learn from people who live on the street.
43:55What kind of things do you do to distract the tourists
43:58when you're pickpocketing them?
43:59I see if he are looking for something.
44:02If he's looking like you, example.
44:06With the map?
44:06Yes, with the map.
44:07And I ask him if he's lost or if he likes that I show the direction
44:13or if he needs some kind of accommodation.
44:17How do you know which people have got money on them?
44:20I just look at where he is, how he pays his bill,
44:25and which bag he chooses to put the wallet in.
44:29Right.
44:29How many languages do you speak?
44:31Portuguese, English, French, Germany,
44:35Hollands, a little bit of Arabs, Japanese.
44:40So you can distract?
44:41Yeah.
44:41You can pickpocket people from all of those countries?
44:44Yes.
44:45If he don't like to talk in English, I talk his language.
44:48I ask him, where are you from?
44:50Then he's going to say where he's from,
44:52and I start to talk his language,
44:53because this way he's going to be more comfortable
44:57to hear somebody who's talking the same language.
45:00This guy's a seasoned pro.
45:03Tourists don't stand a chance.
45:05So what's the most money you made pickpocketing someone in Amsterdam?
45:09On the weekends, if I go out,
45:12I can come home every evening with 500,000 euros.
45:19Working just two nights a week,
45:21Domingo has the potential to earn 50,000 euros a year.
45:26That's a lot of money and a lot of ruined holidays.
45:31Have you ever seen a tourist be stabbed?
45:34With meth, with knife? Yes, of course, many times.
45:38There, the red light street, because of one bottle of cocaine,
45:42the guy killed one Englishman.
45:46It was terrible.
45:47You killed him?
45:48He killed him, yeah.
45:50And is there a boss of the light district?
45:53He's a big chief.
45:55And who are the chiefs?
45:56I cannot tell you.
45:58I cannot show you.
45:59Because they are private.
46:00I cannot do this.
46:02They give us something.
46:03If we don't have nothing there,
46:06we didn't have any job.
46:08They say to us,
46:09come over, take a hundred or take 50 euros.
46:13You are going to enjoy yourself for tomorrow,
46:14during the times coming in.
46:16We are professional to do something bigger to him, you know.
46:25Domingo makes this place sound like a benevolent society for local scammers.
46:31A loose confederacy of thieves and hustlers, preying on wide-eyed visitors.
46:41But if you keep your wits about you in Amsterdam,
46:43you might just avoid Domingo and his friends.
47:01Amsterdam is beautiful.
47:03It has a deserved reputation as a liberal and tolerant city.
47:09Tourists flood in looking for the kind of thrills they can't get back home.
47:16It may feel like a fairytale city,
47:19but remember, some of its risks are very real.
47:55You'll be right back from where this is,