The Perfect Scam

In this special episode, Bob welcomes back investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller. She has spent years venturing into some of the world's most dangerous places, chasing interviews with underworld figures as she discovers truths about black markets and the business of fraud. With her latest documentary project for National Geographic, Super Scam Me, Van Zeller goes undercover to become the target of a romance scammer. What starts with a disguise and an invented dating profile will take her face-to-face with a would-be romance scammer on the other side of the world. We learn how scams are enabled by networks of criminals working together and how technology is reshaping the way criminals slip into victims' lives.

Mike and Cathy are preparing for retirement and a move from New Jersey to Florida. During the stressful period of downsizing and transitioning their business, Mike is caught off guard by a call from someone claiming to be a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent.  He is initially skeptical but becomes convinced to join a video call with an "FBI agent." The agent informs Mike that he is being investigated for involvement in a money laundering scheme and could face extradition to Vietnam. Over weeks of fear, manipulation and constant surveillance of Mike's phone, the scammers persuade Mike and Cathy to send $250,000 in bail money.

Chris and Raquelle Judge market themselves as the next Chip and Joanna Gaines, showcasing custom homes and renovation projects across their social media channels. But behind the polished image, clients say problems emerge soon after construction begins. From improperly installed plumbing and electrical to crooked walls, suspicion grows about the couple's true credentials. Weary homeowners seek second opinions and are left to pick up the pieces of their unfinished, unlivable homes when the Judges stop returning their calls.

When Sheratan Johnson receives a call from an unknown number, she's startled to hear the man on the other end of the line claim he's kidnapped her daughter from gymnastics class. Hearing her daughter's screams, Sheraton follows all the kidnapper's demands, and also texts her ex-husband, Brian, who goes into battle mode. Armed and ready to take on the kidnapper, he races across the city to get their daughter back, leading to a dramatic confrontation at a foreclosed house.

In part two, residents of the upstate New York hamlet of Hamilton learn of a financial scandal that touches nearly every corner of the community. Burt Marshall offers investment accounts that promise 8% interest, and he's been paying the interest for years. But when his house of cards suddenly comes crashing down, it exposes a Ponzi scheme so widespread that it ensnared not only individuals, but institutions ranging from the local fire department to the cemetery. All the while, Marshall carries on as if nothing has changed, still biking through town daily and living comfortably in his five-bedroom Victorian home in the town center. His crimes, however, soon attract the attention of the New York attorney general.