01/09/2014 Inside Out London

Welcome to a new series of Inside Out London.

Here is what is coming up on tonight's show.

We asked just how safe are the minicabs you are climbing into.

She has no idea what she's getting into.

We reveal a new chip and pin scam targeting Londoners.

I would like to ask you a lot of questions. I you making mondy

I would like to ask you a lot of questions. I you making money out

I would like to ask you a lot of questions. I you making mondy out of

questions. I you making money out of it?

And we meet the injured warriors going

I am doing for different disciplines and I am looking forward to it. I

will try to make us all proud. The London black cab is one of the

capital's most recognisable icons. But it is one that is under threat

because the cabbies who drive them reckon that not enough is bding done

to protect their livelihoods And we are part of the problem too

because too many of us are jumping into unbooked minicabs, oblhvious to

the safety risks we are running. We sent Louise Hulland

to investigate London's London's black taxis are ranked

the safest in the world. We take for granted hailing

down a cab and getting to But what if anyone could stop

and pick you up? There are two sexual

assaults every week. Touting is now

an enormous problem in the capital. Touts are minicab drivers,

some even bogus. I am just being attacked

by a minicab driver here. Soliciting would`be passengers

on the street. She has no idea what

she's getting into. This is illegal, whether the touts

are licensed minicab drivers or not. You have approached this lady

in the street. The dangers of getting

into an un`booked cab is th`t it is We have no real idea who

the vehicle is. You don't know the operator

and it is a risk. We have discovered

a clandestine group of black taxi drivers who are trying to rdclaim

the streets for safety and topple It is Friday night

and London is buzzing. But when the pub goers

and clubgoers start looking for a ride home, I will be joining

a secret band of licensed black cabbies, the hit squad,

who are out to confront the touts. Jonathan is an enthusiastic

member of the group. And they are going

into action tonight. We are off to meet up,

to go in convoy, just after midnight Cab after cab gathers

at this pre`hit assembly point, We have got 120`150 drivers that are

going to go around to We want to stop these touts getting

outside the clubs They have sent a couple

of colleagues in ahead to scout the area and they

have confirmed illegal activity The location has been tweeted to all

and they are going in, in force The 130 cab strong hit squad swoop

on the very heart of West End Within minutes,

and with their for hire lights deliberately off, they form a new

military criss`cross blockade. From north to south on

Wardour Street and East to West Although it is just

a one`hour protest, Some of them are saying that the

cabs around there are going mad. Tempers are rising but the cabbies

are determined to make their point. There is absolutely no enforcement

in the West End whatsoever It is causing us problems

because we cannot get to While the touts lay low this time,

they have been known to be Excuse me,

this is a criminal offence to tout. It is about making awareness

of the problem because therd are still significant misunderstanding

among sections of the public, around the legality of using

unlicensed minicabs and so on. Taxi drivers work hard to do

the knowledge, We go through the ringer to get

a licence. We do five years on the knowledge,

learning London. It is not just the black cabbies

that say touting is an issue Kerry runs a respected family

minicab firm in Shoreditch. We get quite a lot of touts

around here. We have had to physically shoo

them away from the office. They will see a queue outside

the office, people waiting, and We had a young lady come

into the office for a minic`b. She was a bit drunk and did not

want to wait and she did not want And the next thing we know, we had

heard she had actually got hnto So London's touting epidemic is not

just a question of threatendd Marcus bravely agreed to come

forward to tell his story, but he He admitted he was under

the influence when he flagged Marcus says he was repeatedly raped

but was too scared to tell He said if I did not do it,

he was going to kill me. I was really

in a dreadful condition. With 104 cab related sexual assaults

reported last year alone, it is an issue of real concdrn

in the capital. It is to the case

and fortunately that a large number of people, nearly half the xoung

women we interviewed in our survey, still will consider using

an unlicensed vehicle at night. But do the public know

the difference or care? The difference

between a black cab and a minicab. No, I do not know the difference

between a black cab and a mhnicab. The differencesi black taxis can

pick you up If they do, they are breaking

the law, even if they are licensed. I spoke with one reformed ex`tout,

he did not want to be identhfied but He does not even have

a clue how to dial his phone. It is people

like us that take them home. But yet, you would not report

someone that you knew was I am not endorsing it

but I am just explaining, it is out of necessity that some of

them come out to do what thdy do. Back in the West End,

the hit squad have finished I think we highlighted

the problem by bringing We regularly take part in both overt

and covert operations to target What are you doing

with this young lady? Can you tell me what happendd,

please? He pulled up alongside me

and asked if I wanted a taxi. He offered me a fare of ?22

and he tried to usher me You are going to be arrested

for that. I think that demonstrates

our commitment to clamping down Things get worse for the suspect

when the unit examine his licence. Because you amended

the public carriage office disc, I am going to further arrest you

on the suspicion of fraud. No further action was taken

regarding the fraud allegathons but the touting charges are still

being pursued against the suspect. I think it is very important that we

highlight the dangers and again, I cannot over emphasise the point,

if it is not booked, Despite cabbie and police action,

are the nightlife public still Yeah, we do sometimes flag down

minicabs when we are outsidd a club. Alcohol makes you think

that everything is fine. I know it is really bad when

sometimes you have not got luch money and one of the fake minicabs

says I will do it for a tenner. You are kind of desperate

at the time. You just want to get into anything

that you see and get home. Touting is clearly a huge problem

but law`abiding drivers from both black taxi and minicab

communities believe a lot more needs I was pronounced dead and I was

about to be put in a coughing and my medical staff felt that I h`d a

medical staff felt that I had a slight pulse. You owe everything to

When chip and pin machines were first introduced in shops,

we were told they would help keep our credit card secure.

But now an investigation has discovdred that

criminal gangs are using specially adapted machines to steal fhrst bank

For the last nine months, we have been working undercover to

gain access to a fraudster with global connections.

Jonathan Gibson has this exclusive report.

It is Friday night and for lost of us, the weekend has started.

A few drinks and some food out and if like me you've never got

For 10 years now, we have all been using these, chip and pin m`chines.

And the place I have come for dinner is no different.

Remember when we used to sign for things in shops?

The banks told us chip and pin would be much safer.

Well, try telling Paul from Harrow that.

These chip and pin machines can be compromised.

There was a message on the answering machine

When I rang them, they listed some attempted purchases on my c`rd

One of them was quite a substantial amount, over ?1000.

Barclaycard made sure Paul was not left out of pocket,

but a quick look online shows there are many more victims.

There are good people on thdre, like the innocent victims,

I am talking to a man who knows all about stolen pin

numbers because he steals them and he is looking for a new partner

Funnily enough, I have not mentioned I am a journalist.

He thinks I own a restaurant with card paying

customers but I need to gain his trust and that is taking months.

But one day, he tells me a parcel is in the post.

And it is not just any chip and pin machine.

I have already spent months gaining this criminal's confidence but he

He has finally agreed to chat, but is banking on staying anonymous

He tells me the machine he has sent me remembers people's card numbers.

Once you have swiped it, the data is already saved from the first swiped.

But now when you enter the pin, the pin is stored

That is so he can steal it afterwards.

Do it like how the restaurant's receipt looks.

And because he thinks I onlx restaurant, he has told me to put

this error message on the bottom of the receipt so my customers will

That is when I can swap it for my normal one to take

What I need to work out is a way of putting that to the test.

We are a bit like mobile phone top ups.

You can only spend what you put on them.

I need him to think they belong to my customers, but will it work?

He has told me I will need to download the data using some

Can you just plug that into your laptop?

So when it is done downloading, just send me that file and it is done.

He has e`mailed me through the rest of the card numbers

and the pins that go with them for these cards here.

In a couple of minutes, he has got everything he nedds to

make exact copies of all these cards, which he can then usd in cash

points and he says he has done that already time and time again.

I think the encouraging thing to say is that these frauds are very rare.

We have only seen one recent instance of them and we are seeing

convictions in the Old Baildy in respect of that at the moment.

The industry's existing advhce to customers is to protect

Well, with something like that, there is no point, is there?

Well, I think the first reassurance to

give everybody when it comes to this type of fraud, which is a very rare

type of crime, is that even if you are a victim of it, you will receive

But we always advise customdrs to check their statements.

As all the pay`as`you`go debit cards are in my name, I can also check

They have never left my wallet, but according to the transaction

history, they have been emptied of cash in the Philippines.

So either he is stealing my money or someone he knows is

But he has also sent me a second machine,

He is taking cash out in the Philippines

I have also sent money to C`nada for the cables he posted.

How about I tell him I have busted the machine?

I am hoping he will ask me to send it for repair and

if he trusts me enough, he might give me another address, though it

He has taken the bait, telling me to send it to

Marcus Montague in Canada, the guy I paid for the cables.

But this is one parcel I want to hand deliver.

I am heading out of town, 25 miles along the freeway to Pickerhng.

Is the guy we have been given the address

That we have been talking to for months now?

There is only one way to make sure and that means playing posthe. Yes,

OK, so the accent need to work, but I am hoping the uniform will shine,

Yes, it is Marcus Montague and here is his signature to prove it.

Two days go by before I hear from him again.

I will say I have got the Courier delivery.

Montague, I have got a delivery for you, mate, a delivery for you?

I cannot accept if I do not know about it, you know?

BBC Television in the UK and I would like to ask you

a couple of questions about your involvement in chip and pin fraud.

I think you do because we have been sending deliveries to your `ddress

We are asking you a few questions here.

We just need to know about xour involvement with chip and pin fraud.

Who are you actually involved with them?

Are you making a lot of mondy out of it?

Raised a few more questions perhaps but whatever the case, he was not

Back home, I am still in the market for answers but

Verifone, which makes the machines, does not want to be intervidwed

Verifone says the fraud is not a result of tampering with Verifone

devices and requires the collusion of two criminals.

The company says it takes the security of consumer data very

seriously, it works with authorities to uncover fraud

Jonathan Gibson investigating there. And I can confirm that the police

are promising to act on the evidence collected in his report.

Next week sees the launch of the Invictus Games,

held to celebrate the achievements of Armed Forces personnel who have

The four days of competition are the brainchild of Prince Harry

and cover everything from powerlifting to wheelchair rugby.

We sent top sprinter and Olxmpic medallist Iwan Thomas to meet some

That poem was written by the Victorian poet William Henley.

And its sentiments some up thesd games.

And it was not just plucked from thin air to be a symbol

The poet wrote it himself after recovering from surgery.

I have won gold medals for my country at both European

and world Championships but I also suffered a coupld of bad

injuries so I know the feeling of frustration that brings, but

mine were nothing to that of these athletes competing in these games.

After the accident I could not speak properly.

Words would kind of fall out of my head.

Maybe a sentence of reading and my anger levels were quhte high

My body was in shock and not until I tried to get up,

that is when I could feel my body was getting weaker.

I am one of the lucky ones, in the sense they cannot fix me

They could not get me from when I was back into military duties.

Over 400 athletes will take part, coming from 14 nations,

Many will compete at the Olympic Park at Stratford

and the athletics events will be held here in Edmonton.

The UK as the whole nation will have the largest team

and I am here to interrupt the training of three of thdm who

have gone from being seriously disabled to going for gold.

I grew up in foster care and got to 18 and kind of didn't want to stay

on at school and didn't have any idea where I wanted to be and one of

the things with foster care is they don't build you up to be anxthing,

they just try and keep you away from trouble. I decided that I

It made sense because I had a roof, I had food,

I had a job and I knew it was at least four years of security

When you go into the army, you think it's going to be this big adventure

and then you actually get to basic training and you realise it's just

But after three years of hard work, calamity occurred for Susan.

I was 21 and I was doing the gym circuit,

but I just felt the underne`th of my foot just pop and then a

couple of days later, I was in the meds centre because right the way up

Well, that must be why I like the colour purple because my legs tend

I got diagnosed with compacts regional pain syndrome and that

Kind of finally finding where I wanted to be,

finally finding something I was good at, found something that I was truly

a part of and suddenly told you are never going to walk again.

I joined the army to have something and now the army was telling me that

I remember the day I was discharged, being told by the doctors, claim

benefit, get a really good NHS GP, just to take the drugs, just do what

you can to stay as mobile as you can, do not plan to much because in

10 or 15 years from now, you're not going to be able to do anything

I remember it so well because I was conscious for two hours aftdr

It happened very early in the morning.

There were three of us in the vehicle.

A driver, a gunner in the front, and I was the gunner in the back.

The rear right wheel of the Land Rover, which was not armoured,

stepped onto a hidden 44 gallon drum and inside

the 44 gallon drum, the enemies had placed two anti`tank mines `nd they

filled up the drums with hundreds and hundreds of ballbearings.

So not even a second when the vehicle, myself and my two

colleagues were up in the air, all I could remember was the scre`ming.

Other colleagues of mine were screaming and shouting at the time.

The explosives in our vehicle were going off as well.

I was pronounced dead in Camp Bastion and I was about to be

put in a coffin when the medical staff felt I had a slight pulse.

So just so I can picture it, you are about to be put in a coffin, in a

body bag, and last`minute, one last check they find this sign of life.

Meeting somebody who actually escaped from a body bag really makes

you realise what the sports men and women once went through.

Life often seemed meaningless until athletics came along

Before my accident, I was studying for a degree and after that, I could

not carry on as my concentr`tion levels were quite low.

And it was actually another injured Royal Marine who got me

into sport and kind of started by trying to get me to squat then,

to try and run properly and then, I was quite good at running.

I can witness firsthand, you are a pretty good runner.

How proud will you be running in that Great Britain vest?

To compare where I was three years ago after my injury, yes,

it is going to be a proud day for me, the team and my famhly

So you are going to be doing the 100, the 200 and the 400.

Yes, I am going to get some pointers off you.

On the Wednesday, this wheelchair arrived and an hour later, the

Paralympics opening ceremonx started not 500 yards from my front door.

It was that kind of moment when I realised that other people with

my condition were racing and were taking part

You are in that body bag and you recover from that.

Do you have to pinch yours elf sometimes to think you are going

to be competing in several events at these games?

I am doing discus and shot because they are my main events.

And then I will try out a bht of running as well.

I am just so thankful to be alive tod`y.

Losing my lower limbs, it is not really a big thing.

It is just a scratch and being part of the

British Armed Forces team in the games in four different disciplines,

I am looking forward to it `nd I will try to make us all proud.

You may not feel it is a big deal, but I think

the journey you have been on just to be here is amazing so good luck.

The Invictus Games will open on Wednesday 10th of August and

if you want to support them, there is more information on our website.

I will give you the address in just a moment.

But first, let's have a look at what is coming up next week programme.

It was designed to help people get onto the property ladder.

But why has the right to bux dream turned sour for some?

I bought this property thinking it would give me peace but it has

brought me lots of problems. How little Lily helped bring

a pioneering cancer treatment to She is a real inspiration to us We

are trying to look for ways to bring these innovative trip meant into the

UK and then we can help all of the children.

And we get a sneak preview of the heritage gems as thex go

Members of the public will have a great opportunity to see our extra

special treasures, our Magna Carta special treasures, our Magn` Carta

is, our Shakespeare deeds. And that is it

for this week's programme. Don't forget, if you missed any

of tonight's programme and want to catch up on iPlayer, or

of you want any more inform`tion, Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with

your 90 Second Update. The parents of seriously ill

Ashya King are tonight in a Spanish They were arrested after reloving

him from a Southampton hospital. The family say they did it to get

alternative cancer treatment. New Government measures to try to

stop Britons going to fight in Syria Police will be able to seizd

passports before they travel. But there's no deal yet

on stopping them returning here.