“Project MS-2” Scam or The Great Reality TV Swindle

“Project MS-2” Scam or the Great Reality TV Swindle was perpetrated in 2002 by a British man named Nikita “Nik” Russian. At the time of the scam, Russian was working at an entry-level position in a branch of the UK book chain Waterstone’s. He subsequently decided that he wanted to produce his own reality television programme. In early 2002, Nik “placed advertisements for a year-long television programme in publications such as The Stage and the Evening Standard, which invited “characterful, resourceful and energetic” people to apply for the chance to “raise [their] profile” and potentially win £100,000.” He received more than a thousand applications by email and he auditioned some of them on the Raven’s Ait island in London.

“The auditionees were told that the show was being created by the production company Nik Russian Productions (NRP). For the purposes of the auditions, Russian enlisted the help of his friends to take on roles such as psychoanalysts and runners—his girlfriend, whom he had met on a university access course, acted as a psychological assessor, while his friend Mike was a cameraman. The auditionees were then divided into small groups and given practical and psychological tests to complete, such as baking a cake in under an hour without a kitchen or ingredients. From these auditionees, 30 people were selected to star in Russian’s programme, which he had dubbed “Project MS-2″. The winning candidates were informed of their success in an e-mail from NRP and were also sent various contracts to sign and return. They were told that the project would last for a year, so most of them gave up their flats and jobs. The contracts stated that their food, accommodation and leisure money would be provided, and that they were to meet in London on 10 June 2002 for the programme to begin filming. Each contestant was also told to set up a new bank account to which Russian could have access and to arrive without money or credit cards on the launch day.”

The contestants were divided into three teams – 1, 2 and 3. The teams had to undergo a challenge, which was to make £1 million in a year. “Their first task was to find accommodation for themselves for free for a week. The contestants slowly realised that, despite what their contracts had claimed, they would have to find their own food and accommodation, and would essentially be making their own prize money. Some contestants demanded to meet with Russian, who eventually revealed to them that no television channel had actually commissioned his show. Teams 1 and 3 disbanded within two days. Team 2 remained together for slightly longer—sleeping on the floor of the flat in Dalston that belonged to their cameraman Tim Eagle, they decided to film their own reality TV programme about themselves, and set up a “diary room” to discuss their thoughts about Russian and his show. Having also given up his home and job, Russian had nowhere to stay either, and he too was forced to sleep on Eagle’s floor with Team 2. On 12 June, Eagle contacted the local news station, London Tonight, and the group locked Russian in the flat, forcing him to speak with the journalists once they had arrived. After their story made the local news, Team 2 stayed together until 14 June before they also split up.” Russian went into hiding and was unable to be reached by his victims. A participant, Daniel Pope, managed to track Russian down to an address in Richmond upon Thames and convinced him to be interviewed by Christmas TV and apologise on camera.”

Some put the blame for this scam on Russian as a conman, others were more sympathetic, while others put it on the contestants overly trusting nature and desire for fame. Rupert Smith of The Guardian described Russian as a “tragic figure”. Paul English of The Daily Record noted that the swindle reflected a “fascination with reality TV – and how the draw of being on telly can turn us into gullible fools”.  Russian, unlike a “true” scammer, did not take any money from the victims. As Russian had not actually taken money from his victims, he had not committed a crime, so no criminal case was filed against him. A civil case was not pursued due to lack of funds.

It appears that Russian was not a “true” scammer as he did not take any money from his victims. However, there are “true” scammers who undertake scams like the clip joint scam, chain letter scam, green goods scam, miracle cars scam, Thailand airport scam, Spanish prisoner scam, badger game scam, black money scam, pigeon drop scam, Jamaican switch scam, poetry scam, mystery shopping scam, Father’s Day shopping scam, internet clearinghouse scam, computer finance scam, romance scam and various other scams. Avoid the scams by recognizing them. Stay alert and don’t get scammed.

REFERENCES:
1. Smith, Rupert (18 November 2002). “The price of fame”. The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2002/nov/18/tvandradio.television
2. Smith, Rupert (4 December 2002). “Lives less ordinary”. The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media).  http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2002/dec/04/broadcasting.tvandradio
3. English, Paul (30 November 2002). “Harsh reality of TV dreams; Some people will do just about anything to be on the telly – even if it means being taken for a ride by a con man”. Daily Record (Glasgow: Trinity Mirror). http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Harsh+reality+of+TV+dreams%3b+Some+people+will+do+just+about+anything…-a094728847