The creators of Honest Guide, Janek Rubeš and Honza Mikulka, were physically attacked by scammers in the second episode of their three-part series exposing Paris scam operations. Known for their videos protecting tourists in Prague through their 1.2 million-subscriber YouTube channel, the duo typically exposes currency exchange scams, taxi frauds, and tourist traps in their home city.
In their first video (described here), Janek and Honza showed how they outsmarted the city's notorious cup-and-ball scammers in a park near the Eiffel Tower by using worthless Belarusian rubles in their rigged games, openly mocking them after the fact.
But when they returned to film more footage, the scammers recognized them. "The boss notices my buddy's camera is recording and starts to push him around," Janek reported before multiple assailants surrounded them, kicking and spitting while throwing rocks, despite being next to the Eiffel Tower's security checkpoint. No cops were in sight.
After the attack they spoke to a local balloon vendor, who revealed the scam was a permanent fixture in the park, explaining they were a "family" who operated "every day, every day." Despite this apparent impunity, when the duo finally found some police officers elsewhere in the park, "they became very interested when we told them how aggressive they were towards us," Janek explains. "They even asked for a picture of the scammer so we gave it to them."
Chillingly, the scammers began following Janek and Honza as they walked back to their apartment, forcing them to take evasive action through side streets.
"We learned our lesson – you don't confront scammers when you're in a country that is not your home country," Janek concluded, contrasting the situation with their home territory: "If I was in Prague, the guy was going to jail."
