Posh Spice had the treatment. Simon Cowell had it too. Tonight on 20/20 ` what some people will do to stay young. Heard of a placenta facial? It's just gonna feel very cold and very clammy. Also, we try Kim Kardashian's favourite ` the vampire facelift. This is quite intense. Oh my gosh. And ` If you're shopping at a discount store, and you're getting a trusted brand name for far less, you should ask yourself, 'Is this really the real thing?' Why buying a fake is a mistake. There's copper flowing through the bloodstream if you use this product. There's copper flowing through the bloodstream if you use this product. It's frightening. Kia ora. I'm Sonya Wilson. They are two of the more unusual celebrity trends ` placenta facials and vampire facelifts. They've supposedly helped keep Posh Spice and Kim Kardashian picture perfect, but did you know that they are a multimillion dollar business here in NZ too? Our own Erin Conroy volunteered to put these treatments to the test. Just a word of warning on this story, it does contain some explicit shots. You can't really explain it until you actually see it happen. I think it's amazing. So how old is it now? It was born at 3 o'clock this morning. It was born at 3 o'clock this morning. Oh wow. 'It's a miracle.' < (GASPS) Hello, little foal. Can you believe they're that size when they come out? Can you believe they're that size when they come out? No, I can not. 'The miracle of new life.' Nature reproducing, all that kind of stuff, it's all lovely, but that's not what we're here for, is it? but that's not what we're here for, is it? No. Have you got what we're here for? Have you got what we're here for? I do. Where is it? Where is it? It's in my garage. 'I'm here hoping to find a miracle of my own. 'And for that, I need `' Oh! 'the placenta.' It's this afterbirth that's the latest and least likely beauty trend ` a placenta facial. Now that we're looking at it in its most raw form, I'm not really sure. It hit the headlines when Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, had the treatment. Simon Cowell had it too. Posh chose a sheep placenta facial made from a NZ sheep. Me? I'm going for a bigger, more powerful source ` a horse, of course. A few weeks later, I'm back at the farm. Sarah's kept our placenta nice and frozen for us. And now it's going on a little trip. I'm on a journey to get my own placenta pampering. I've come to rural Hawke's Bay... Hi. Hi. Hi. Angela. Angela. Yes, yes. Angela. Yes, yes. How are ya? ...where my foal's placenta will be processed. I saw the foal when it was just a couple of hours old. I'm following it the whole way through, Oh. starting with a wash. You can dive right in now if you want. Why wait? I'm all about the au natural. Lab owner Angela Payne tells me what the magic ingredients are and the anti-aging benefits it claims to have. This is the nutritious part for the dietary supplements, so the amino acids and the CO enzyme Q10 in it. Right. This part here is very rich in the type five collagen and extracts, so this is looking after your skin. She assures me this will be transformed into something I'll have no problem putting on my face. Oh, it's really squidgy. A prospect I'm struggling with right now. Oh, it's those sacs of liquid. So who on earth came up with the idea using a placenta for a facial? Not me. It's actually, uh, the origins are based in traditional Chinese medicine. Can you pinpoint the moment it really took off? Yeah, when Posh Spice turned up on TV admitting that she used placenta facials, suddenly it was like, oh my God, an avalanche, and everybody wanted one. Suddenly made it mainstream and acceptable to the` to the western world. No way would I have even been able to get you to put placenta on your face probably five years ago. And now because of Posh Spice, here you are wanting one. Thanks, Posh. Back in the lab, the sac or amnion has its best bits cut out. The rest? Well, it gets minced. Meat balls, anyone? And the process continues. The mince gets heated and fermented. It separates. The difference substances are freeze-dried. And then baked. It looks like trays and trays of beautifully cooked brownies and squares, but we know it's not. And finally after several levels of filtration, my placenta's serum is ready. There we are. Here's your placenta. To the big smoke of Havelock North. Time to get some placenta on my face. Are you ready for your equine placenta? Are you ready for your equine placenta? I think so. Oh, it's on. Oh, it's on. It's going on. Oh, it's on. It's going on. It's going on. It's bloody going on. What do people say the placenta facial does? Lots of ladies come in monthly because they say it picks their skin up, and they feel a bit more vibrant. Did they have any trouble getting over the fact that it is an animal placenta? Yeah, I think they actually probably prefer it cos of the slightly novelty factor and because they're rural women as well. I think they think it's great, so I don't have any trouble. Now, remember that square of the sac back at the lab? It's time for that to go on too. Here we go. It's just gonna feel very cold and very clammy. Are you ready? Um, yep. Too late. So just to put things in perspective here, this is the sac that that lovely little foal come out of and is now on my face. Absolutely. All done. Right. You can probably hardly recognise me. Little bit on the shiny side. Actually feels really good. You should feel the results for at least a month. If I were to come back through, how much would I be out of pocket per treatment? Currently we're charging $150. OK, that's sort of your standard facial price, isn't it? OK, that's sort of your standard facial price, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Hey, awesome. Thank you very much. Hey, awesome. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Hey, awesome. Thank you very much. You're welcome. See you later. Cheers. From green pastures and placentas to cosmetic surgery central Remuera Auckland, and I'm now taking a step up in the intensity of my facial procedure with another celebrity-driven trend. Erin. Erin Conroy. I'm here with one of NZ's top plastic surgeons. What brings you to see me? I've heard about this` this facial treatment where they take your own blood and put it back into your face. and put it back into your face. Aha, the vampire facelift. > It was Kim Kardashian who shocked with her pictures of a similar procedure... Kimmy gets a vampire facial. Reportedly Angelina and Kylie Minoque have the blood treatments too. Officially, it's called platelet rich plasma therapy. So it's not a procedure you've got any concerns about? So it's not a procedure you've got any concerns about? No, not at all. It is nobody else's tissues but yours. There's no chemical additive, there's no unsafe procedure. You're starting to get what we call marionette lines or bitterness lines. These depressions here. If you imagine gravity pushing down and relax your mouth, you can see how you're starting to hollow through there on each side, so what I would suggest is plumping that up with some platelets and try and put in a bit more collagen. No smiling. Just neutral face. It's time. OK. First, the vampire part ` drawing my blood. If you're squeamish, things get a little graphic from here. It's normally about 8ccs of blood. A spin to separate out the platelets, which are then injected back in. The idea is that it will improve skin texture and wrinkles. The local anaesthetic I'm putting in now. I'm just putting a blip. In goes the local anaesthetic. On goes the antiseptic. This is quite intense. And eye patches. Really bright, OK? Really bright, OK? OK. What happens next I won't be able to see or feel... So we go up to where we want to be. ...and maybe for good reason. There we go. You're doing famously. You're halfway there. There we go. You're doing famously. You're halfway there. OK. But unlike other patients, I'm able to watch it all back. Here we go. And just a reminder, there are some graphic images coming up. That's a big needle. It's a big needle. Oh my God. Oh, he's having trouble getting that needle in. Oh my goodness. Good. I had no idea. All done. You did famously. That will now integrate into your tissues to release the growth factors and all the good stuff we were talking about earlier. Right. I did it. I did it. Post my treatments, my skin is feeling really good. I've seen a small reduction in my bitterness lines, something I never knew I had until it was pointed out to me. So is this the miracle I've been looking for? Well, costing about 3 grand, it'll rule many of us out. Celebrities will definitely continue to push the beauty boundaries, but for me, though, the miracle might just be accepting aging gracefully. Now, I can confirm that Erin showed up at work again the day after that procedure no worse for wear ` no worse than going to the dentist, she reckons. We'll have to take here word for that. Next on 20/20, the billion dollar business of counterfeit goods and why buying a fake is a mistake. You've got it in your medicine cabinet, and it could be making your husband sick. Staples brought by women every day, and the ingredients will stun you. And your babies ` did you buy something that's putting them at risk every time you use it? And this was the headline that got a story. A major bust tonight involving products. What was really inside those products? Welcome back. Ever thought that those shampoos, skin creams, toothpaste, mouthwash and the make up on your face might not be what you think? 20/20 has been on the prowl for fake everyday products. From the counter to the streets and on police busts in warehouses all over the US, it's a multimillion dollar counterfeit industry with fakes that will surprise you, ingredients that will either outrage you, or just plain gross you out. BASSY MUSIC In every corner of America tonight, families getting their shopping lists ready for the weekend, and who isn't hunting for a steal? Tonight you're about to see what happens when that real deal isn't the real thing. This was manufactured in China by a criminal organisation. You're about to watch as 20/20 takes you on the inside. Come down here so we can at least block this path. We join the elite teams who bust the fakes. Are we rolling? People putting your family at risk. That's the signal. That's the signal. Let's go. Three different cities, and you'll see the moment they're put on the spot right here. Police. Can you get up? The product in your medicine cabinet ` it could be making your husband sick. A staple bought by women every day and the ingredients that will stun you. And your babies ` did you buy something that's putting them at risk every time you use it? And this was the headline that got us started. A major bust tonight involving products. What was inside those products? Long Island, New York ` just this year, one of the biggest counterfeit busts on US soil ` authorities say two brothers selling products with names and labels we all know. Look at this. The Vicks VapoRub, the ChapStick, the baby oil. But all of those products customers were putting on their face were fake, and who knows what was in them. And get this ` the products were being sold in stores across the country, from Florida to New York, to Pennsylvania, and as you'll see tonight, investigators say that's just the start. We team up with the feds at the Intellectual Property Rights Center in Washington DC, where inside we were given a first-hand look at the products fooling American families every day. Do you think Americans would be shocked to know how much of what they're buying is fake? I think most Americans have no idea. I think most Americans have no idea. It's a dirty little business. I think most Americans have no idea. It's a dirty little business. It's a very very lucrative business. Director Lev Kubiak takes us into the room where they pulled out the fakes ` what they've seized from store shelves and internet sites across this country. So, all these are everyday American products? So, all these are everyday American products? Everyday American products. Perhaps you would expect luxury knock-offs ` the fake Ugg boots next to the real ones; the Beats headphones fakes too. But tonight here we reveal the dangerous fakes, the ones right in your bathroom, the ones your family use every day, coming from low-wage factories all over the world, where they steal the labels and place them on their own products. These fakes are made in China. The shampoo, the bathroom soap, the razors, even the condoms, guaranteed to protect you, but in this case, investigators say they used substandard materials. And then a brand name we all know, but in this case, really head and shoulders above the rest? So, this shampoo is in showers across this country, but this isn't the real thing? It's not. What are you really putting in your hair? What are you really putting in your hair? Heavy contaminants. Uh, heavy metals. Uh, heavy metals. You could put metal contaminants in your hair without knowing? Things a legitimate company would never introduce. He says it's a mistake that can be toxic, that if you're shopping at a discount store, a dollar store and you're getting a trusted brand name for far less, you should ask yourself is this really the real thing? If you pay a dollar when you'd normally pay a lot more, it should be a red flag? It should be a red flag. And look at this tonight, also found in a discount store, an extension cord for a lot less. The same colour, the same packaging, even the safety seal to seal the deal. They even put on this Underwriters Laboratories seal to make sure the public feels it's been tested or there's security. The safety seal? The safety seal? The safety seal. But they're about to show us what happens even with that seal when a counterfeit cord is put to the test. Investigators say the copper wire is so thin, it can't even carry the electrical current coming from the living room wall. And he tells me it's not just what you buy for your home; it can be in your car too. If you've ever been given a great deal on a repair, driver beware. Even the replacement airbag be a fake. This will scare a lot of people. And watch what happens side by side. On the left, a real airbag fully deploying. On the right, the fake airbag disintegrating right into your face, bursting into pieces with nothing there to protect you. How do they know if they have a fake airbag in their car? Take it to an authorised dealer or a repair shop that you really trust and have them check it. Tonight here, with all of those fake goods pulling in $500 billion a year,... Ready to rock. ...we're with the teams out to protect your family. We start with Mom. We head to a discount store not unlike so many do across America, this one right here in the heart of New York City, and our team heads right in to buy MAC cosmetics, a brand name you can trust. But we wanted to know what's really in that rainbow of colours. We buy it... You guys have good stuff. ...and take it to the lab. The 20/20 test ` is this eyeshadow pretty or pretty dangerous? We're told we'll have to come back for the results. And tonight we're also out to protect your husband with something else in the medicine cabinet. Why would you let something like erectile dysfunction get in your way? That's right. Authorities say Viagra is among the most common counterfeit medications sold in America. But investigators ask, in counterfeit bottles, what's really in some of those little blue pills? In fact, we've all heard the warnings in those commercials, one line in particular. Authorities say it's in there in part because of possible fake ingredients. Too little or too much of something, and it can lead to an unintended consequence. Seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. And just like the make-up, we're about to learn tonight what's really in these little blue pills discovered by investigators. And while we wait for those results, investigators aren't standing down. We're given exclusive access right there with them in Phoenix, in New York, in Los Angeles. It's another hot day in LA, and they're about to turn up the heat trying to snuff out the fake-outs. LA County Sheriff sergeant Janice Munson and her team getting ready. This is going to be Operation Wrong Time. We're going after, uh, an individual who's selling Rolex watches. In the room, we meet private investigator Kris Buckner, who hunts down the fakes and then turns them over to the LA Sheriff's Department. That's our job. We're on the ground. We identify the targets who sell or make the stuff. First up, one of the most common fakes of all, but time's up for the fake Rolex, and we listen in as they tell the team the signal to watch for when they catch their guy. As soon as the hat comes off, the hat is the sign we have product. Once the hat comes off, then it's a go. Any questions? Are we rolling? They're on the way. The cops arrive at the parking lot. Unmarked SUVs ` we're in one of them, putting up the visor to keep our cameras out of view. That's the customer right there. He's actually working undercover, waiting. Now will the seller show up? And right on cue, he pulls in. Everyone inside the cars, including us, now studying that cap. There it was. There it was. There's the signal. Let's go. Hands up. Get your hands up. The suspect under arrest and the fake watches about to fetch him thousands could tonight fetch him jail time. The next stop ` this parking garage. Tucked in the back corner, fake bags that could fetch $150,000. We're right there. Tonight, two more under arrest. When we come back here, the results of our 20/20 test ` what's really in that make-up? And you won't believe the ingredients revealed in those counterfeit little blue pills. And what happens when I go back to that store... I'm with 20/20, and we're rolling right now. ...and show them what we discovered in the lab. Are you selling fake make-up? You're about to be stunned by what we found, when we come back. Now, taking your gear's no problem with, oh, seat + bag. Air New Zealand's changed their domestic seats, so now you'll always have four options available every time you book. Ah, that concert's coming up. Seat only's perfect if it's just a quick visit. Now, taking your gear's no problem with, oh, seat + bag. You don't see one of those in every bush. Tick-tock, tick-tock ` meetings can take a while. Just in case you need to change your flight time on the day, book flexitime. Ooh, and your little niece is due soon. If you might need to change the day you fly, best go with flexiplus. Look, the family nose! Never mind. Air New Zealand's new domestic seats. Visit airnewzealand.co.nz GENTLE MUSIC This evening, all across America, the people pushing fake goods are getting ready to cash in on unsuspecting shoppers all weekend long. By next year, counterfeiting will become a trillion-dollar industry worldwide. And 20/20, right there on the inside tonight with the investigators, out to catch the counterfeiters before they dupe you. Primary. Primary. Target ` primary. 8am in Phoenix, and they hand out pictures of their first target. This squad on the hunt for a man who they say is also selling fake make-up right out of this shoe repair shop. All right, let's go. Even in the desert heat, we watch as the team puts on its full tactical gear. They stay undercover ` they say the best way to catch them. They don't want everybody to see them. The whole team are dressed like that. They tell us they have to wear this gear because they never know what they're about to walk in on. He's gonna be there really quick, boss. Phoenix Police. Search warrant. Come out with your hands up! Phoenix Police. Anybody in here, let yourself be known! Counterfeit make-up, and this is a true health-and-safety issue. And, remember, 20/20 found the same thing back east ` that make-up our team bought in New York. We took it to the lab. So cheap, we wondered was it too good to be true, and we compared it to the real thing. First, testing full-price MAC makeup, buying it at an authorised store, and here are the results. MAN: We're not seeing anything of concern in respect to metals. > It was perfectly safe. And we're about to get the results on the other MAC make-up, that great deal we bought elsewhere. Dr Whitney Bowe, a dermatologist, waiting inside for me, and she's about to take us through the results. This is the MAC that we tested? This is the MAC that we tested? Exactly. In this test, there is so much copper, no question there's copper flowing through the bloodstream if you use this product? There is free copper flowing through the bloodstream, hurting kidneys and hurting the liver. It's frightening. Beryllium can be a cancer causer. Beryllium can be a cancer causer. Beryllium is a known carcinogen. Is this a wake-up call? Is this a wake-up call? This is a major wake-up call. And tonight here, Estee Lauder, the company that owns Mac, confirming to 20/20 that that product we bought in New York City and just had tested was indeed a counterfeit product and not one of their own. And those results weren't the only ones that alarmed us, because Phoenix investigators revealed to us what they have found in those counterfeit Viagra pills. Just listen. The pills were made out of road paint ` stuff you see on the roads. It's what gives colouration. Talcum powder gave it its form. And just watch as they take us out on a new case. A man they say is promising a good night in the sack with those little blue pills. But he's about to spend his night behind bars. Let's see what we've got here. Jacob's moved in place to meet the target. Just watch as the customer standing there, working undercover, is buying from the man in the driver's seat. 40 counterfeit Viagra pills for a hundred bucks. It would cost him 1700 at the drug store. After the deal, we watch as the police helicopter follows the seller's moves. That alleged pill-pusher is about to get pulled over, just a few hundred feet from his $600,000 home in Scottsdale, Arizona. RT: Thank you very much for your assistance. 20/20 cameras rolling as they count the cash they found in his car. 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000? 4200. The squad taking us inside, searching the house. Phoenix Police! Anybody in there, let yourself be known! Search warrant! And here's what they showed us when they came out. We found all kinds of, uh, his inventory. And these are some of the different samples, um, that are designed to look like Levitra and, um, Viagra and Cialis, and, apparently, there's a, um, lady Viagra, which, uh, is news to me. The Phoenix police department confiscating more than 7000 counterfeit pills, a retail value of $150,000. 20/20 given eye-opening video ` investigators working with Pfizer, and just look at where their drugs are being counterfeited. Factories in China, Latin America. They say India too. All of it shipped to America, sold in low-end stores, on the street, from people's homes. And there's someplace else. So, Viagra ` people are buying this online? Yeah, we've seen a real explosion online. They take us into their operations room, where they track the fake websites. And look at this ` side by side, the drugs. Can you tell which bottle of Viagra is real, which is fake? And it's not just adults in danger. It's parents and their children too Babies ` look at these two websites side by side for the popular baby carrier by Ergo, but this one is a complete fake. Side by side, I thought this was the real one. Side by side, I thought this was the real one. We get that reaction a lot. Parents are falling for it. Those Ergo baby carriers, designed in America, but the idea stolen everywhere, with no guarantee that there's anyone checking the safety of those fakes. So where do they make the fake? So where do they make the fake? These fakes are made in China. So what's the best way to tell if your baby carrier is real, if the Viagra you're buying will have the intended effect and if that make-up is made up? Look at the manufacturer's website, take a look at where these companies say their products are distributed. And there's one last stop for 20/20, back to where our shopping began. Armed with the results of the make-up test, we're headed back to the New York City store where one of our producers bought that make-up three weeks ago, testing positive for lead, for copper and for that carcinogen beryllium. How would they explain the results? I'm with 20/20, and we're rolling right now. 'This is the woman who sold our producer that make-up.' Is this supposed to be real? Is this supposed to be real? I don't know. Is this supposed to be real? I don't know. Are you selling fake make-up? I don't have any idea. We ask her, does she remember selling the so-called MAC product to us? We were rolling three weeks ago when we sent our producer in. You guys have good stuff. Do you remember working with her? Do you remember working with her? I don't know. Do you remember working with her? I don't know. Do you remember her face? I bought this from you, remember? 'And how does she explain the test results?' But look at the test results ` lead, copper, beryllium. These are cancer-causing agents. Oh. 'And we reveal to her what Estee Lauder, the maker of MAC, told us about that case of eyeshadow.' And MAC told us this is not the real thing. They told us they've never even sold eyeshadow in a box like this. I don't know. I don't have any idea. Can I see the paper? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. When you see these test results, do you feel badly? Yes, of course. Yes, of course. You feel badly about it? Yes, of course. You feel badly about it? Mm-hm. Yes, of course I feel badly. Yes, of course I feel badly. But what will you do to stop it? 'We repeatedly asked to talk to her manager, to the boss. 'But for two days now 20/20 has been calling, and we've been told he's out sick.' But we did notice that on that shelf, three weeks ago full of that make-up labelled MAC, all of it gone tonight. After the break, have you ever talked yourself up on your CV when applying for a job? Well, it turns out you're not alone. By some estimates, half of all resumes contain a lie. These days, faking a resume has been elevated to an art thanks to the internet. Need that college degree? For about 500 bucks, you can buy it online complete with transcripts. And since a jazzy social profile impresses employers, how about 40 bucks for thousands of phony Twitter followers? Welcome back. From the CVs to the diplomas to the references themselves, America is teeming with fraudulent credentials and people in high places who lied to get there. We put two companies to the test to see if they could catch out our fake job applicants. TECHNO MUSIC Andrea Stanfield was living the dream in Tampa, Florida. A six-figure pay cheque, a big house, expensive clothes. Buy a boat, jet skis, Rolex watches, you know, the whole nine yards. Truthfully, life was great, except for one small detail. It was all built on a lie. I got more and more anxious that I would be caught. I was just lying to everyone. Her big lie began when she decided to apply for a stockbroker position. The job required a college degree which Andrea didn't have, so she simply made up a business administration degree from Akron University. She landed the job and quickly moved from one big position to another. So you must've been emboldened after that? Yeah, it was like they don't even care. Andrea's career was soaring on phony credentials, which apparently millions do. By some estimates, half of all resumes contain a lie. These days faking a resume has been elevated to an art, thanks to the internet. Need that college degree? For about 500 bucks, you can buy it online, complete with transcripts. And since a jazzy social profile impresses employers, how about 40 bucks for thousands of phony Twitter followers? With the access to the internet, uh, applicants out there can easily create whatever resume they'd like. The alarming rise in faked credentials has led some companies to turn to private eyes like Mario Pecoraro to sniff out those phonies. Alliance Worldwide Investigative Group. Most companies don't use PI agencies like his,... Can you verify his dates of employment? ...but he's the gold standard for those who want to screen out the fakes. Have you met someone yet who's been able to fake you out pretty well? Not so far. There are a number of good fakes out there, and we make it our business to catch them every time. But if he's the big cat in the land of resume fakes, we've found the clever mouse. Nothing like an ice-cold beer. His name is William Schmidt, a surfer-looking dude in Columbus, Ohio, riding the waves of desperate job-seekers willing to pay for phony credentials. This is my global corporate headquarters right here. In his flip-flops and shorts, from his cramped sunroom, Schmidt operates the creme de la creme of fake resume sites, called careerexcuse.com. For $125, he'll sell you a phony job history with a gleaming web page of your fake company, complete with a phone number and address, just waiting to be googled by a prospective employer. You'll see that it is on Google Maps, so, again, it brings more realism to our virtual company. This is pretty clever. A factory worker, Schmidt juggles his real job with his virtual one, helping scores of people who've lost jobs during the recession and feel stigmatised after being out of work for so long. They're just totally desperate. They want to fill in a gap on their resume. What's your track record like? What's your track record like? I would say half of my subscribers will get a job probably within 30 days. He says he's motivated by the high fives he gets from grateful clients who have been offered jobs and thank him for his service. But you're creating a site that really is... basically dishonest. It's like a... a poker player. A lot of times, he's gonna have to bluff, and that's what job-seekers are needing to do nowadays to land a job. So we decided to call his bluff. Could a small-town mouse slip past the claws of a big cat like Pecoraro? To find out, we hit the job market, applying for actual positions at companies that work with Pecoraro's firm, like a sales manager job at this beer distribution firm in Saratoga Springs, New York. Our applicant, 20/20 staffer Sarah Lang ` she has zero experience in the alcohol industry. So Sarah jumps online with Schmidt to fake up a job history. Within two days, he comes up with this slick-looking website for the Oyster Island Brewery. It includes an address and phone number in case someone decides to check up on Sarah. And he's added a position as marketing associate at the brewery to her resume. Next, we raise the stakes and apply for a Vice President of Marketing and Communications job at this IT Company in Clifton Park, New York. Our applicant ` 20/20 producer Michael Mendelsohn,... I just wanna see the B roll. ...who's clueless about marketing. So first he goes to a diploma mill website, paying $500 for an MBA from the unaccredited Ashley University. Then Schmidt gives Michael marketing experience, creating jobs at two fake companies, one as product manager at Performa Marketing and a current job as marketing director at Altman Research. And one last thing that couldn't hurt ` Michael springs for more than 2500 of those phony Twitter followers. We submit both resumes through the company's websites to see if they'll catch our fakes. Schmidt boasts he's rarely been caught, because few companies thoroughly check resumes and job references. They're very boilerplate. They question nothing. At the end of the day, you're lying, and you're helping other people lie. But, you see, that moral question has to, um, reside within the person who's subscribing to my services. Which brings us back to our fake job applicants. More than a hundred people applied to the two positions, the more promising resumes, including ours, landing here in front of Pecoraro's investigators. They don't know who our ringers are, but they find plenty of other fakes,... This is a lie right here. He has never worked for the company. ...including a guy with a phony degree and another who lied about two of his past jobs. Then they're on to us, beginning with Michael's Mendelsohn's fake degree. One at Ashley University, which we found to be a diploma mill. One at Ashley University, which we found to be a diploma mill. So that one was pretty easy. But what about those elaborate websites Schmidt created,... Impressive website. ...with their supposedly real addresses, phone numbers and operators? The phone number associated with the website came back to a generic service with no direct response. And we went one step further and identified the address of Oyster Island Brewery to actually be a Dunkin' Donuts. to actually be a Dunkin' Donuts. (LAUGHS) So much for that one. But we did manage to sneak one thing past Pecoraro ` those 2500 phony Twitter followers. Wow, you smoked us out, huh? But we got you on the Twitter followers. You got us on the Twitter followers. You got us on the Twitter followers. There you go. So what went wrong? We skyped with Schmidt. We got caught. What happened? How many people really make the effort to check if every single company that people put on their resume is real? The majority, it doesn't happen. Anyone who uses a fake reference service is taking a gamble. In the end, resume-faker Andrea Stanfield says living a lie isn't worth it. Her career and marriage are history after she came clean, fearing she'd be fired. Today Andrea is about to enter nursing school, determined to find a new career the old-fashioned way ` earning it. I'm finally going to take the long road, and I'm going to do the right thing and not have to lie about anything. So that's gonna be fantastic. Next on 20/20, two more short films from the Loading Docs series ` the first a different view on Christchurch residents post-earthquake. Regardless of the shaking and the trauma, it made our world a lot different than what it was. We felt like the poor have come rich overnight. Welcome back. We know the Christchurch earthquake had a devastating effect on people living there, but for one small group, it brought an unexpected taste of luxury and high living that they had never experienced before. Here's another Loading Docs short film called Living Like Kings. To us, it was the best thing that could ever happen. I could handle the earthquake every day, personally. Regardless of the shaking and the trauma, it made our world a lot different than what it was. We felt like the poor have come rich overnight. I'm Cowboy. I live out on the street. I've been out of a house for about three years roughly. The rest of the time I've been in jail for just getting shelter. 2007. This is how I used to live. I used to sleep over there. You'll see from this to what we've got now. And we own here. The Sultan. ROCK MUSIC Our living arrangements are actually a lot better than what they used to be. The homeless, we were living like kings. We were staying in abandoned buildings. Some of these places, there's hardly anything wrong with them. They are flash houses. They've got lounge suites, they've got champagne on the tables where they've left them. Excuse the mess. It was like this when we got here. Beds ` real posh beds. You know, I haven't been on a bed for a long time. It's like Christmas to us. Yee-ha. Whoo-hoo-hoo! GLASS SMASHES There was a big as 13-storey building. It was abandoned, and so all the homeless and the street people ended up sleeping in the luxury hotel. We were leaning out the window saying, 'Hey, bro!' Yeah, heaps of people would laugh when they'd ask and you'd say you're staying at the luxury hotel. Ground rumble. You won't see it move. I can go to pubs where I'm not allowed and can wear bare feet. I take my animals wherever I like. Look, it's great. We've never seen anything like this in our lives, eh? We love it, man. We really love it, eh, and we think, well, fuck, we got a taste of it, what the rich are doing. I think they take their comfort for granted. I don't think they really realise what they've got. Yeah, yeah, we're living like kings. We're starting to get a taste of your world. Beautifully shot, eh? We've all seen them ` they're an iconic part of our summer road trips ` the stop/go guys. But do you really appreciate what they have to put up with every day? Here's another short film from Loading Docs. Dad said to me, 'Bernie, you need to leave school and get a job 'but don't ever get a job where you wear boots.' So I left school, started an apprenticeship as a car painter ` boots. I went dairy farming ` boots. Truck driving ` boots. I joined the police ` boots. I mean, traffic management? Boots in the end, so the one bit of advice my father gave me I never really took any notice of. GENTLE MUSIC I just can't see me fitting into any other lifestyle. We normally ride on the site first, the idea being that when the guys and their diggers and trucks turn up, they can just go straight to work. They don't have to worry about the traffic or pedestrians. We've got that completely covered. And then when they finish at the end of the day, they pack up their gear and go home. We pack up any signage and our cones and start again the next day in the same routine. So we're first in, last out. But, I mean, that just goes with the territory. Just live with that. You've gotta have a bit of confidence. You're making it safe for the road to be constructed and for the public to travel through at the same time. So you've got trucks, rollers, diggers, and Nana and Grandad in their Suzuki Swift going on the same bit of road. You know, I've got friends who work in Auckland, and they love it. But I couldn't sit in a box in Auckland. I was working in Queenstown in a terrible, terrible spell of weather we had over there one year, and I was standing out there freezing cold. A lady stopped and said that she'd gone past me about five minutes ago, and I looked so sad and miserable she went out and bought a coffee for me. So yeah, no, now and again, the odd lolly and bit of fruit or something like that. But mostly you just get a smile and wave, and that's cool. Would be nice if someone gave me a winning Lotto ticket, but, you know, a Chupa Chup's not too bad. This is one hell of an office, mate. This is one hell of an office, this country. You know, the air conditioning is a bit suspect sometimes with the rain and the snow and all that stuff, but the office itself is just unbelievable. Unbelievable. Oh, yeah, I've been very very happy with my boots. Very happy in my boots ` I love that line. If you want to see any of tonight's stories again, head to our website It's TVNZ.co.nz/20-20. You can also email us at 20-20@TVNZ.co.nz or go to our Facebook page ` we're at 20/20 NZ, and let us know your thoughts on tonight's yarns. Thanks for all your feedback, especially on our Facebook page. We love getting it. Well, that's our show for tonight. Thanks for joining us. See you next week.