You've Been Scammed by Nigel Latta is a New Zealand television programme which teaches its audience about scams. It is hosted by psychologist and television host Nigel Latta, and has four episodes.[1][2] The programme details eight types of scams and the human weaknesses they exploit. Several scammers were contacted within the programme, and several victims of scams were interviewed, including a woman who lost $100,000.[1][2] Latta compared scammers to magicians within the show. Magician Brendan Dooley featured within the programme, who carries out scams on unsuspecting victims.[3] The programme was first aired on TVNZ 1 on 3 July 2023 at 8 pm.[4]
| You've Been Scammed | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Nigel Latta |
| Original release | |
| Release | 3 July 2023 |
Description
editThe production team made multiple contacts with scammers for the programme. Latta said that a scammer "sound[ed] very plausible, very believable and very convincing," saying that "We knew he was a scammer but in the middle of that conversation even we were starting to doubt ourselves".[1]
The opening sequence of the programme features a hooded figure surrounded by code.[2] The Spinoff described the theme tune as "a powerful dubstep beat drop that will really get you in the mood to squash some scammers".[2]
The programme included safety expert Sean Lyons from Netsafe and cybersecurity specialist Daniel Watson. The programme interviewed victims of scams who included a woman who lost $100,000, a woman in her 60s who started blowing referee whistles into the phone when she receives calls from unknown numbers, and a lawyer in her 30s who fell for an Instagram story claiming to be a cash prize draw.[2] Podcaster Frances Cook was also featured on the programme, who talked about the people impersonating her in attempt to scam her followers.[3]
On the first episode the magician appears and acts as if he is a sound engineer. While he places microphones on the victims he steals their ties and watches. Further on in the episode, Latta sets up a fake website for the programme's production company. It was used to carry out a phishing scam, emailing people to provide credit card details to prepay parking. These emails included a misspelling of Latta's name, which victims dismissed.[2] The production team asked participants for four-digit numbers and scoured their social media profiles. Latta then used this information to act as a mind-reader, which appeared magical to the participants. He then guessed their bank PINs using the four-digit numbers.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c Harvey, Kerry (21 June 2023). "You've Been Scammed By Nigel Latta wages war on rip-off merchants". Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Casey, Alex (4 July 2023). "Nobody is safe from Nigel Latta's scams". The Spinoff. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Jack, Amberleigh (3 July 2023). "Think you'd never fall for a scam? Nigel Latta proves how easy it could be in You've Been Scammed". Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ Croot, James (1 July 2023). "You've Been Scammed By Nigel Latta: The new TVNZ series every Kiwi should watch". Stuff. Retrieved 19 October 2023.