TV program Scam City BAires
 

There is a series here in the US on a cable channel (Science channel) called Scam City; usually pretty standard stuff of pickpockets and other petty stuff which some common sense would take care of.
Today they had a show on Buenos Aires.
The amount of fake currency is just incredible.
Last time I was in Argentina 3 years ago, it was a problem but certainly not as much as he portrays.
Is he just making drama or is it really that bad?
He received counterfeit money from vendors, exchange houses and some actually took his real money, changed it to a fake bill and told him he had given them a fake bill.

The most widespread issue with fake bills is from Taxi drivers. Ive not seen this reported for Merchants and Exchange Houses. I have not seen the show but if you have a link or something, I would like to have a look and see for myself.

I don't see this as a very widespread issue, there are certainly some bad apples out there but I don't think its gotten to a point where a big deal needs to be made out of this.

That show was definitely over-sensationalized. He ran into fake money, pickpockets, black widows and much more in less than a week? Most people will never see any of that when they come here for a week or two.

In fact, I've been here 4 years and never had a fake bill personally (though I do know friends who have). We also rent apartments to foreigners and none of them reported fake bills though we have had two pickpocket incidents in 2 years of renting.

Here is the link to Scam City on YouTube. It makes for interesting watching:

Part 1: http://youtu.be/tHg-9gcg3n4
Part 2: http://youtu.be/j9wOaSwHLM8
Part 3: http://youtu.be/cPU7ildqMv4

Thanks for the links and also for your comments. It adds a lot of perspective.

We've probably all had fake bills and didn't even notice. However, I've run across not more than a handful of attempted crooked cabs in countless rides, but then again, I know where I'm going and can communicate well enough.

As a practical matter, the potential loss to most of us from a single bad bill is now is US$12 to $15.

The odds of fake money and pickpockets in a week is fairly high for a wayward careless tourist (especially with a poor choice of currency exchange venue), and the odds of a black widow for a horny inebriated businessman with a poor choice of drinking establishments is probably not low.

The odds of a decent and uneventful trip for a tourist with functioning brains are high, even if one unknowingly receives a bad bill and then spends it with his next purchase.

I'm sure Scam City could feature any big city in the world.....there is quite a list of them already on You Tube.

Made more for gullible viewers than travellers.

I was speaking to a lady at the IC warning her about the fake notes. The following day she took a cab to La Boca. The fare was 60 pesos. On the way back she had a charming driver who spoke decent English and managed to take an alternative route resulting in a 90 peso fare. He obviously realized his blunder in not getting the fare over the magic 100 peso threshold and very kindly offered to break one of her other 100 pesos bills. The rest is history. I couldn't help laughing.
Eastbay is right re the connection between your ability to communicate/knowledge of BA and the chances of being ripped off.

The same applies for many other large cities also....

Where else is fake money a problem with taxi drivers? Pickpockets etc exist everywhere but I haven't come across the taxi driver change problem anywhere else.

Im talking about Taxi scams in general, it doesn't have to be fake currency specific.

Yes, BOG. I discovered I'd been given a fake veinte mil bill by my taxi driver when I got back Stateside. I framed it :D

Certainly, cabbies in New York, Chicago, L.A. and Miami will gladly take an unfamiliar tourist on the most indirect route possible from the airport to their hotel.

ALL of these "reality TV" shows are fairly fake. Some more than others but I wouldn't believe any of them too much.

I did a few shows for Cable and they were popular so next thing I know, the production company was asking me to be involved with complete strangers and say I knew them. No way I'd do that. These shows are all fairly fake.

Its mostly about the ratings..... :rolleyes:

Gaucho;
Would you say that BAires is as safe or less safe than what it was 3 years ago. I have not been back in BAires for three years and the last time I was there, most local people were complaining how unsafe it is getting to be and how even 5-6 years ago they felt much safer in the streets, at home and especially walking at night.