Episode 1 The Real Hustle

'This is the most successful scam show of all time.

'A hit in 45 countries around the world.

'The Real Hustlers have stolen cars...'

-Bye!

-It's perfectly safe there.

'..burgled houses...

'..picked...'

-SHE SHOUTS

-'..switched and ditched.'

-A tenner for the whole lot.

-'They've carried out close to 500 scams

'and stolen over one million pounds.

'And now they're back for an 11th series,

'Alex, Jess and Paul,

'with new recruits Polly and Jazz.

'Their job - to expose the tricks of the criminals' trade

'so that you don't get scammed.

'On tonight's show,

'guest hustler Shane Lynch is having a very bad hair day.'

-That's not a bad idea.

-'Jazz's prop bet is all in the balance.

'And Paul shows you why you should never play cards with some blokes in some bar.'

-The next card I turn over is your card.

-OK.

'The hustlers have invited celebrity friends to see if they can cut it as con artists.

'But they'll have no clue what the scam is about and there are no dress rehearsals.

'So this is sink or swim.

'Today's guest hustler is actor, motorsport nut and Boyzone hunk Shane Lynch.'

I'm not a good guy for doing people out of money and such, but that's why I'm here,

to learn a new side. My morals don't allow me to actually cheat people out of anything.

If it's me dropping the bombshell on the person

who's perhaps going to be devastated losing something, I'll feel terrible. Absolutely terrible.

'Shane knows nothing about the role he'll be asked to play in today's scam.

'He's just been told to go to a local landmark

'and keep an eye out for a sexy swindler.'

-Hello. You all right, Shane? Nice to meet you. How you feeling?

-A little bit nervous.

Oh, don't worry, we'll take good care of you.

-Have you ever heard the expression, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"?

-Uh-huh.

-Today you're going to be helping us scam the same person not once but twice.

-Right.

You look gorgeous, but we do have a costume for you.

We're going to throw everything at you today.

'Today will separate the boys from the men in Fool Me Once.

'It's lunchtime in a busy town centre and people are going about their business.

'These guys have just come from a Bureau de Change

'and that's why this guy is now the mark.'

Excuse me. Hello, my name's Suzie.

Can I just ask, did you just exchange some money just now? You did?

We're just doing an investigation. Can I ask you to follow me? We just need to check your money.

'So there's some kind of undercover operation being carried out in the area.'

I think you'll be able to help us.

Don't worry, you're not in any trouble.

'It's a pretty weird request, but as it comes from a pretty lady,

'the mark does as he's asked and accompanies Jess.'

-Got any change, please?

-Sorry.

-Have a nice day.

-Ian, these gentlemen...

-'A little further up the road they meet Jess's colleague, Alex.'

Ian Steele. Come with me, gentlemen. Just a routine check.

'He's very confused, but still keen to help, he follows the investigators to their van.'

We've had reports of counterfeit money being passed to people,

usually from exchange shops or other stores.

We're trying to pinpoint where this money's being leaked in.

So all I need to do is check that the money you have is genuine.

The pounds. How much is that?

-OK.

-'So Alex and Jess are investigating reports

'that local money shops are laundering cash by exchanging good currency for bad.

'Legit bank notes have watermarks to identify real cash from fake.

'These show up under UV light.'

-I'll check this one.

-Did you say it's the first time you've used that shop?

'Alex checks if the cash is counterfeit and he has good news.'

You're fine. Everything looks fine.

-Thank you for letting us have a look.

-Thank you very much.

Cheers.

'The mark's cash is all legit, so he's free to go.

'That beggar seems to be trailing the mark.

'That's because it's Shane.'

-Bit of an improvement, I reckon.

-Yeah.

'This is Shane's first big moment.

'He has to stop the guys dead in their tracks.'

-Excuse me, gentlemen. My name is Alan Ladd. This is my colleague.

-Operations manager.

No, they're not who they say they are.

Come with us now, up here. You're not in trouble. We just need to check what's happened.

If you could just follow us, my boss needs to have a quick word.

'The mark's already been intercepted by two undercover investigators.

'Now he's being asked to cooperate all over again.

'Shane and Polly have their work cut out to convince him a second time.

'If he walks away now, the whole scam's over.'

-BLEEP.

-Calm down, you're not in trouble.

You're not in trouble.

-Sorry, this is my job.

-Don't worry.

-We'll be two minutes. We just need to make sure your money's OK.

-Thank you for your cooperation.

'Eventually he agrees to go upstairs into a stakeout location being run by Paul and Jazz.'

Can you keep an eye, let me know when they leave?

'It certainly looks like an official operation, but the mark has clearly had enough of being ordered around.'

Your name is? Derek, how are you?

Well, do you know what's just happened?

A gentleman just examined your money, this guy here.

Whatever money he's swapped, we'll give you real cash back.

-All right?

-'Paul's got some bad news about the cash Alex handled at the van.

'It's probably been swapped for fake notes.'

How much did you give him?

All right. Can I have a look at what he's given you back?

No envelope, nothing like that?

Well, as you can see, these are all fake.

'So not only was Alex the investigator at the van fake,

'he also swapped the mark's cash for fake notes.

'There are clearly no watermarks visible under the UV light.'

You can see that's all fake. This is what a real bill should look like.

Like that. See that? Big difference, right?

-OK. Unfortunately it's under £500. Are you OK?

-No, I'm

-BLEEP.

Well, have a seat, then. Derek, have a seat.

'Right now, the mark doesn't know who to believe. He just wants his money back.'

Did you suspect him?

I understand that. That's fine.

The good news is I'm going to replace that cash.

'To help convince the mark that Paul and his team are the real deal,

'he'll refund the full amount in real cash.'

Boss, I just want to let you know, I've got eyes on the two suspects.

-The van's still here. They've popped out.

-OK, couple of minutes.

Before I give it to you, check it,

I'll show you what you're looking for. You're looking for the stripes.

This could be fake money, as well.

'Having been stung once, the mark is suspicious.

'But Paul proves the money is real by showing him the UV watermarks.'

That's the cash from this.

'But here's the thing, the money the mark had at the beginning was real,

'the money he was given back was real. And the money he has just been given by Paul is also real.

'What are the hustlers playing at?'

Well, as you can see, these are all fake.

'The trick here is in that UV lamp.'

Nothing at all. See that?

'There are actually two bulbs in the note checker.

'When Paul took the money from the mark, the UV bulb was off.'

-Nothing at all.

-'Then he gave Polly a signal...'

This is what a real bill should look like.

'..and she flicked the UV switch on, and that made the watermarks light up for all to see.'

Big difference, right?

'The mark doesn't know it, but all the cash has been 100 percent real all the time.'

That's the cash from this.

'He's got all his money back, and now Paul's just about to make him an amazing offer.'

-Are they still there?

-Yeah, the van's still there. They're in the cafe.

They've been there a few minutes, probably having a coffee. They'll probably be there for five, ten.

Erm, did you get the sense they were going to stay or go?

I think they're hanging around for a while, myself. I've been there two, three hours.

How much more cash do you have on you?

There's a £5,000 reward if we arrest them with more than £1,000.

'In return for helping Paul catch Alex and Jess red-handed,

'the mark will get a whopping £5,000 fee.'

Well, that's the problem, he's pretending to be us.

We have the whole thing on camera. We have to catch him in the act.

We're hoping you've got more than £1,000. That's the truth.

'Sensing that they're losing the mark, Shane steps in to convince him.'

-We can assure you you'll be in very safe hands.

-He'll be with you the whole time.

Nobody will leave you alone with him. I guarantee it.

Are you sure?

'Unsure who he can trust, the mark refuses to help.

'Unless the hustlers can persuade him otherwise, this scam's going nowhere.

'When hustlers go out, they don't take money.

'They take prop bets.

'The proposition bet has only one rule. And that's that the hustler always wins.'

OK, I'm going to try a proposition bet for you. What I need you to do is,

I need you to hold this note at both ends like this.

And I need you to balance a 10p piece on its side like that,

on the top here, and you have to hold it for three seconds.

-Yeah?

-For three seconds?

-For three seconds.

So I'll give it to you to have a try. If you do it, I'll get you whatever your favourite drink is.

-If you can't do it, you have to get me one, yeah?

-Yeah. I think I could win.

'So Jazz is offering a round of drinks to his new friends

'if they can balance a coin in the air for three seconds on the straight edge of a bank note.'

That's not a bad idea.

Oh! It was definitely there for a third of a second, maybe.

-Close. Very close.

-Can you do better than that, a second?

It's still good. It's better than most.

OK, so what you do is you fold it in half

and make sure there's a really well-defined crease at the top.

Open it up on the table. Balance the middle of the 10p, there we go.

One. Two. Three.

THEY LAUGH

'Success. Jazz creases the bank note to create a kink in the edge.

'Then places the very middle of the 10p over the kink and slowly straightens it out.

'That's got to be worth a free drink.

'Going to the pub with your mates is a time when you should be able to let your guard down.

'But not when the hustlers are in town.

'Especially when these boys are fooling around with a deck of cards

'and Jess is on the lookout for some likely marks.

'These guys look promising.

'They take a seat in direct line of sight of Alex, Jazz and Paul.

-'And Jess seizes her opportunity...'

-Sorry. Excuse me.

-'..and moves in.'

You were the boys getting ID'd at the bar, weren't you? Was it you?

'Straight away their attention is drawn to the commotion in the corner. Looks like a lot of fun.

-Come on over.

-I'm not, I'm sorry.

-Come on over. It's fun.

'Invited to join in, Jess takes the marks over to the table

'so then everyone can get friendly.'

Can I just say, I'm not betting anything.

'Posing as Jess's colleagues, they are all on a works night out.'

-Do you play?

-From time to time, yeah.

-What do you play?

Er, poker, blackjack...

'These guys seem up for a gamble and that makes them the marks.'

-It might be my lucky night.

-'But Lady Luck won't be on their side in The Smudge.'

-Take a card.

-Just pick a card?

-Any one.

That one. Look at that. Don't let me see it. OK.

'To break the ice, Paul shows the guys a card trick.'

Right, put it on top there.

'He's actually trying to find out if they're carrying cash

'and willing to put their money where their mouths are.'

I don't see well, anyway, but I'll do it by touch.

'Paul's trying to find the mark's card.'

-The next card I turn over is your card.

-OK.

'The mark thinks he's missed it as it's already on the table.'

-How much would you bet on that?

-I'll bet 20 quid.

-Without even looking at it...

-I'm happy.

20 quid. The next card I turn over is your card. Fair enough?

-If it is, you take that money, but if it isn't...

-All right. That's the next card I'll turn over.

SHE LAUGHS Oh, my God!

'He's impressed.

'He's fallen for a simple card trick.

'But more importantly, he's shown he's willing to play for money.

'And that's exactly what the hustlers are looking for.'

-Do you want to win your money back?

-Aye. Yeah.

'Paul gives him another chance to win.'

-All you have to to do is find that. It's called Find The Lady, that's the queen.

-I find it?

-Anybody actually. Do you want to play? You haven't put any money down.

-Oh, here we go!

I'm going to mix these up.

All you have to do is decide where the queen is. All right?

'Paul is going to play the classic Three-Card Monty,

'also known as Find The Lady.'

-Where would you say it is?

-I'd say there.

-And how much do you bet?

-It's over the far side. Don't lose your money.

-I watched him.

'Jazz's role here is to be a rubbish gambler. And he's good.'

-You think it is there?

-That's not it.

-Turn that one over.

-Dude, what is wrong with you?

-'Alex gets it right.'

Mate, do me a favour, lend him your glasses, would you? I'm putting money on this one.

So, you should know where it is. Anybody want to bet? 20 quid. Where?

-There.

-This one?

-Yep.

No, no. I want this one. Don't try and cheat... Ah, ah! This one.

-This one!

-All right!

'And Alex gets it right again.

'The marks can see how easy it is to win.'

-Are you sure? Have a shot.

-I'm not playing. No!

'Maybe the lady will be good at finding the lady.'

-I never get it right.

-It's just guess work. Not for money.

-Agh!

-You should have put some money!

-I know.

'The marks are watching with interest, but not getting their money out yet.

'The hustlers make it look easy but the marks are right to be wary

'because this is a game you can never win.'

Whoa! Cards everywhere.

'But Jess is just about to convince them that they simply can't lose.

'The distraction has been staged to let Jess mark the queen with a dab of lipstick.

'She then makes sure one of the marks knows all about it.'

'It may be a tiny smudge, but both marks can clearly see which card is marked.'

How much?

'Now knowing they are onto a sure thing, they go straight for their wallets.'

I'll let you both put your money together.

-What is that, is that a red one?

-Yeah.

I'll put 40 down on that one there.

Which one are you going on?

'There's now around 100 quid on the table. All their money is on the marked card.'

So long as you go on one, I'll take all the money together. On that one?

-We want that one.

-That one?

-Yeah.

-That's all you got. Turn it over.

'But it's a disaster. That's not the queen.'

-I mean, that's clubs there.

-I'm so sorry.

'They're stunned. And Paul has cleaned them out.'

Look, I'll come back and we'll do it again. Have you got any more money? Get some more money.

'One by one, the hustlers leave the table.

I'll be right back. I'm so sorry.

'The marks try to work out what just happened to their beer money.

'Here's what they didn't see.

'Jess made sure the marks saw her marking the queen,

'making them think it was impossible to lose.'

I'll put 40 down on that one there.

'But by thinking they could hustle the hustlers,

'they were actually waving goodbye to all their cash.

'Just before the crucial final hand, Alex distracted the marks

'and Paul switched all three cards with a duplicate set from his pocket.

'The only difference was that now the losing three of clubs had a lipstick smudge on the back.

'Once this guy turned it over...

'..Alex marked the remaining cards

'to make them think the lipstick had accidentally smeared across all three,

'losing them all their money.'

It's our night in Edinburgh. It's cut short a bit after losing that money at the bar.

I feel gutted and feel like I've been made a mug of, to be honest.

The worst thing is, we can't win the money back.

Normally if you lose something, you have a chance to get it back. It's put me off gambling.

This scam is very convincing because the mark thinks he's getting one over on Paul.

But if you can see the lipstick mark on the back of the card, you can be sure everybody else can see it, too.

Three-Card Monty is the granddaddy of crooked gambling games.

There are hundreds of variations out there, but the result is always the same.

Everyone loses. If you think you know the secret, remember, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

And it could cost you a fortune.

'Earlier today, Shane Lynch went from pop star to tramp.'

Excuse me, gentlemen. My name is Alan Ladd.

'He went undercover to persuade this mark to follow him to a hidden stakeout location.'

Come with us right now, just up here. You're not in trouble. We just need to check everything that happened.

'Paul then tried to persuade him to be part of a sting operation

'to catch fraudsters, Alex and Jess.'

There's a £5,000 reward if we can arrest them with more than £1,000.

'But unsure who to trust, this guy just wanted out.

'Is this scam already all over in Fool Me Once part two?

'Fraudsters Alex and Jess are waiting at their van. Inside the stakeout,

'Paul and Shane are trying to talk the mark into taking part in the undercover sting.'

Derek, look at me, I'm telling you, there's a £5,000 reward. It's yours if you want it.

That's what we do when we catch these guys.

We've got to get it off the street but we can only do it for a certain amount or he'll not go to jail.

-Guaranteed you're in no danger.

-None.

-Guaranteed.

No. Here's what we want you to do.

Just say to him, "I've taken out more money, could you check it for me?"

Just look like you're a complete sucker. The minute he switches the money, we'll step in. OK?

Derek, there's a £5,000 reward. OK?

-OK.

-No problem. You're a good man.

'Finally, he's been convinced.'

Will you buy me a drink if I'm right?

All right. Can I see how much you've got?

What I'll do is, I'll put it in an envelope. OK?

The minute he opens the envelope, take him. What do you have?

'The mark gets out the rest of the cash he's carrying.'

OK. Perfect.

'For evidence purposes, Paul marks the cash with a UV-tagging spray

'so it can be identified later in court.'

-Let's put this in here.

-'All the marked money goes into an envelope.'

I'm also going to give you a microphone. Put that at the side.

'It wouldn't be a proper undercover sting without a wire.'

Er, yes, there is one.

Just put it in here.

So drop this in here. I'll do it for you. Hold on to this. OK.

Erm, right, I think we'd better go. Stay close. Please stay close.

And just do what he tells you. Let's go.

Don't get involved at any point when I go in for the arrest, just stand back, let me do what I have to do.

-We stay safe. It's all good.

-The instant he opens the envelope.

-OK?

-All right.

-Very important. Hurry up.

-'The mark follows Shane down the steps and out onto the street.'

-We're recording everything.

'So the mark is going to entrap Alex by letting him switch the rest of his cash for counterfeit notes.

'The whole thing is being recorded and undercover investigator Shane

'will be on hand to apprehend the fraudsters.

'He does what he's been told, and takes over three grand of holiday cash to Alex and Jess.'

Oh, yeah, I'm just going to spin it around.

'But Alex wants to turn the van around before he checks the cash.

'He seems a bit twitchy. Maybe Shane hanging about is putting him off.

'Alex isn't turning the van around. Instead, he's out of here.'

Do you still have the envelope?

Don't move! Don't move!

'Shane legs after them, telling the mark to stay where he is.

'Not sure what to do, the mark stays put.

'Of course, Shane isn't really giving chase.

'He runs round the corner and jumps straight into the waiting van.

'The mark isn't concerned about being left waiting in the street.

'After all, he's still holding the envelope full of his cash.

'Meanwhile, upstairs, it's not so much stakeout...'

-Go! Got everything?

-'.. as get out.

'It looks like no-one is coming back.

'Fearing the worst, the mark opens his envelope.'

It was very quick. And very deceiving.

And I don't know how they put paper in, or how it was changed. Never seen it.

A pile of receipts from £3,000.

'So how did the mark end up with a handful of worthless paper?

'After marking the money, Paul put it in an envelope and sealed it.'

-I'm also going to give you a microphone.

-'Whilst being asked to wear a wire for the sting,

'the mark didn't notice Paul switching the envelope with real money

'for an identical one full of newspaper sitting on the book shelf.

'Shane also let Paul know the mark wasn't paying attention.

'And from that moment, the cash was as good as gone.'

The kind of hustles that go on in the real world, I think it's very easy to fall victim.

As a witness myself today and a participant myself today,

I think I very easily would be one of those victims without a shadow of a doubt.

I could be a mark as much as everybody else could be, but I think, without a doubt,

you need to be aware of what's around you.

This is a classic case of compliance.

The mark is dealing with people he thinks are officials,

and although it goes against all his basic instincts

he has little choice but to do exactly as they say.

Working in an undercover role takes real skill and professionalism.

The police and security agencies are never going to come along to you as an amateur

and ask you to get involved in an undercover sting operation.

If something like that ever occurs, step back from it, ask for their ID,

they won't be able to produce it, and walk away.

'If you want to know more about how this show is made go to...'

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