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PROBISHUIN = DEEP FArT FIRES (Patreon)

Published:
2018-04-29 02:02:53
Imported:
2021-05

Content

xcom check out privtit patron show thanks for bein patroeons.!! l1

Files

PROHABISHUN - DEEP FART FIRED

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DFFPodcast Twitter: https://twitter.com/Deepfatfriedpod Facebook: https://goo.gl/cukTAV Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/deepfatfried/ DFF AUDIO LINKS iTunes: https://goo.gl/Apvq6X Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/deep-fat-fried Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/deep-fat-fried

Comments

Anonymous

Aewsme

Anonymous

Señor Tomato better bring us a bountiful harvest!

Anonymous

LETS GOOO!!

Anonymous

Too late, I've unsubbed and filed a lawsuit.

Anonymous

God damn it, I hate that this show comes on right when I have to go to work.

Anonymous

I've been waiting all my life for this.

Anonymous

What does XCOM have to do with it?

Anonymous

yesss I remembered!!!!

Anonymous

This episodes gonna be great

DoomKid

I love me some Deep Fart Fires

Anonymous

God damnit tj!

Anonymous
>>11917653

I know right Sean! I got my cookis and cream ice cream and everything

Chloe413

Is it gonna start?

Anonymous

I've been drinking all day waiting for this

Anonymous

Fucking incompetent ass TJ.

Anonymous

God damnit guess they’re too drunk to start the show

Anonymous

And we're off!

Anonymous

time to get wrecked!

Anonymous

Dang, I've been on the wagon for 3 weeks.

Anonymous

Was hoping this would be live

Anonymous

It is live, isn't it?

Anonymous

How can I view this live? I'm new to patreon

DoomKid

Best episode so far

Anonymous

Best episode.

Anonymous

20 minutes of the best DFF content ever

Anonymous

Yeah I'm not sure how to see this with the Youtube chat. Um

Anonymous

You can even see TJ moving voicemeter out of the way when the logo appears at the start

Anonymous

best show yet guys

Anonymous

Dakin they ended the stream bc of technical difficulties but are putting up a new one in a few minutes. You can watch the video live on patreon by clicking on it or if you click the video then click the title quickly you’ll be able to watch on YouTube live as well and have access to chat.

Anonymous

Very helpful thanks. :)

Anonymous

whares the new stram, i'm drunk and i need to know

Anonymous

WHY ARE YOU CLOSED?

Anonymous

I started drinking because of this show. Already dying and nothing's even happened yet.

Anonymous

They're reseting the stream. Tech diffies.

Anonymous

Sweet, I was looking forward to this one a bit.

Anonymous

fire tj, fire paul, fire scotty coz he's not a ball

Anonymous

SCAMMED AGAIN!

Anonymous

scam dammers!

Anonymous

Trainwreck at it's finest

Anonymous

DFF needs an intern to do all the technical stuff

Anonymous

Scormed agorn

Anonymous

As epic as the fall of Pompeii.

Anonymous

Apr 28 at 7:02pm

Anonymous

Intermission then reset. My bad. Hang on to yo hawwwwses.

Anonymous

Who wants to take bets that the new stream starts an hour after this post was issued?

Anonymous

This is why we need Prohibition back. Do you think they would have these technical problems if they were sober?

Anonymous

Best private show 2018.

Anonymous
>>11918368

Who wants to bet by the time that they get the stream restarted they're too drunk to even do anything

Anonymous

@Yishai Ben Yakov-Leib justice dem's represent!

Anonymous

Whats the issue ?

GC1931

Scammed again

Anonymous

Hey, they can take all the time they need. Gonna be a good show, I bet. Let em re-focus. Piss out all their frustrations. Smoke a ciggura & start fresh.

Anonymous

Not going to sit here refreshing the page all night got until 11:11 p.m. then I'm outty 3000

Anonymous

If yio

Anonymous

penis!

Anonymous

When do you guys think they will be back?

Anonymous

Pfffft. No moonshine infotainment & chaos for you then, buddy. Sad.

Anonymous

If you are bored waiting, you should see how crazy the DFF into sounds at .25 speed.

Anonymous

The Zodiac got them

Skeptical Jesus

Just keep yo' panties on, they'll be here

Anonymous

WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO BE CLOSED?

Anonymous

For anyone who's already drunk, listen to "The Phantom of the Opera - Prague Cello Quartet", surprisingly epic. Helping me to get this report done whilst drinking vodka.

Anonymous

use a batch file, you’ll never open your programs out of order again

Anonymous

Let's all calm down - when the stream gets back it will be 100x better!

Anonymous

Don't have all fucking night... getting real close to just finding something else to watch

Anonymous

They are working on it right now.

Anonymous

I mean... you already paid for the show so....

Anonymous
>>11918263

Alright I'll try that thanks. I was trying to figure out how to see the chat too.

Anonymous

Listen fellas, I'm a big fan of your guys' content and have been for a long time. I expect some level of inconsistency, you 3 wouldn't be you if you were all straight edge and type A; but, fucking hell guys. I was introducing a couple of buddies to you guys over some drinks, it took some convincing to get my friend on the couch watching instead of going downtown. What a nightmare. You've lost 2 potential patrons and pissed off a current one. I've truly never made any complaint before, but I'm a bit irritated. Sort yourselves out, buckos. The rest of us prep for work. I know you care at some level. Make it more apparent boys.

Anonymous

What a bunch of drunks.

Anonymous

Or start watchin the Cinema for Cynics on Infinity Wars & keep checkin back....it was great. Spoilers but I didn't care. Can't believe I chose Super Troopers 2 when I saw a flick on my days off. It was good but this seems epic from their description.

Anonymous

Lol and here I felt like a jackass bein late to the show

Anonymous
>>11918569

That's why you gotta keep DFF your own dirty little secret

Marc Geener

I almost want to say give us a rain check because the energy will just not be the same.

Anonymous
>>11918605

I wouldn't mind that but unless it's there idea I wouldn't get excited.

Anonymous

All right well fuck this goodbye

Anonymous

Real close to continuing to refresh patreon every 5 seconds.

Anonymous

time to fiddle with my penis

Anonymous
>>11918629

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ignar Husky

I'm at work listening it and I'm just balling my ass off laughing lmao

Anonymous

dingdongs

Anonymous

Just give them time to fix it the energy will be fine

Anonymous

The energy of a penis

Anonymous

ぉゎいせvえりょねそまd? ようるままがや☆☆

Anonymous

this is pretty sad, gonna go smoke and eat check back in later

Anonymous

Computers suck. They always do the opposite of what you need them to do

Anonymous

Pen is

Anonymous

Be patient fam ^^ they'll be back

Anonymous

REEEEEEEE

Anonymous

im drunk, in the mine time im watching evan lafaver because of cj's situation

Anonymous

This really bleeds my asshole.

Anonymous

That's no fun.

Marc Geener

TJ is garbage.

Anonymous

Hire a tech person maybe. Tj doesn't know how to use a computer

Anonymous

anal seepage

Anonymous

the audio was FINE

Anonymous

Peenus

Anonymous

Sputnik grapefruit The thing that goes 'beep'. “Beep” ~ Sputnik on Everything Sputnik (Russian: Спутник) was a silver grapefruit that the Soviet Union catapulted into outer space in 1830, as due to the fact the fruit was made of solid steel and computer hardware, it was inedible. The Russians could not think of anything to do with the Sputnik fruit, but somebody had the bright idea to make it go "Beep" and released it into space. The United States was very afraid of silver grapefruit proliferation in space, so they hired Hollywood to land on the moon. Boris Johnson was convinced (in between games of wiff waff)) that with enough silver spheres the Communists could control the weather and initiate their "Global Warming" plot along with stealing our precious bodily fluids. After people ignored Johnson and Global warming happened they all screamed "WE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED!" Sputnik was last seen hovering over Norway and is believed to have crashed somewhere in the arctic ocean. Reports later emerged of a cargo cult that had begun worshiping Sputnik for awakening and fusing with the ancient octopi war god of Norway Iku Turso; a Russian intelligence team was sent in to investigate, but all contact was lost during a snow storm, with the only evidence discovered by rescue teams consisting of a low budget, shaky cam found footage horror documentary, where everyone dies cheaply off screen. Sputnik was named after the sound it made, "Sputniksputniksputniksputniksputniksputniksputnik". It took the gas-powered one-piston, 500 liter motor, 25 hours and all the oil and natural gas in Russia to carry the small load to space. Howdy-Doody was livid when he caught wind that the Russians had just beaten the Americans to Space, coining his famous line, "Damnit! Who am I paying around here??!!" Sputnik reproduces by mitosis, and little grapefruits sometimes enter the atmosphere and smash into stage performers with questionable talent. How the fruitlings identify bad talent has so far escaped scientists, but they think it has to do with performer appearances at parties of washed-up teen Disney stars. Sputnik in Popular Culture edit Sputnik-stamp-ussr A stamp that goes beep around the world! Sputnik is rumored to have inspired the game of Badminton. These rumors were not widely believed at first, since tradition held that the game was named after the town of Badminton. But the idea gained traction when it was discovered that there in fact never was any such town. The legend tells that Badminton was first played on a special episode of the Muppet Show broadcast to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Sputnik's launch. The game appeared during the "Pigs in Space" segment, with Captain Link and Dr. Strangepork volleying a scale model of Sputnik back and forth across a net.[1] Regardless of the original source of the game of Badminton, it shot to world-wide fame when President Carter of the United States and Premier Brezhnev of the Soviet Union were reported to play several games during the SALT II nuclear arms treaty negotiations. The game was seen as a metaphor of east vs west battling for control of the world with a nuclear-armed Sputnik, each trying to make it fall on the other's country. After the game, a badly-beaten and humiliated Jimmy Carter was heard to say, "the only winning move is not to play."

Anonymous

So how are you guys doing? Seem to be very penisey tonight.

Anonymous

おちんちん

Anonymous

Penis?

Anonymous

Who wants to rap battle? I ain't talkin fiction you about to go missing run up with the sawed off you about to nod off

Anonymous

DFF is delayed and my pizza delivery is delayed. Synchronicity I guess.

Anonymous

This is what you get when you hit the sauce. Liquor is the devil's semen. Bring back Prohibition NOW!!!

Anonymous

Give DFF or give me death

Anonymous

Scammed again

Anonymous

Pianist

Anonymous

SCAMMERS

Anonymous

I blame Scotty

Anonymous
>>11918890

great movie, but the director was a little weird with where he put his PENIS

Anonymous

i feel like we're missing out on a fisting between the crew members

Anonymous

Yeah so even if the show starts back up, they’ll pass out in like half an hour lol.

Anonymous

Next dff: PENIS!

Anonymous

Excuse me... Did you just invalidate my reality?

Anonymous

CORME ORN GORD

GC1931

Literally die in a hole you retarded cancerous virgin piece of shit. This is exactly why you will spend the rest of your days shitposting from your basement until your parents die or stop supporting you. You will end up homeless spending all of the spare change, given to you by happy successful people, in internet cafes to shitpost more and jerk your tiny dick to pathetic anime children. You're neither funny in real life nor in this chatroom, you are a pathetic excuse of a human being and deserve to spend the rest of your days in a literal shithole. Yes, a shithole, a hole filled with shit, just like you. No one likes you or will ever like you because you are the most repulsive pathetic excuse of a human being I have ever interacted with. I hope that you have a painful death where no one will notice you fucking degenerate piece of shit. You will die alone.

Anonymous

Misa marwin Benson you habe such a big very lag penous

Anonymous

paul should be streaming intermission on highdeology on his phone. i bet theyre screaming drunk at each other and were missing it

Anonymous

Who wants to hear the story of when I tried DMT

Anonymous

PIZZA IS HERE NOW WHERE IS MY DFF GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER TJ

Anonymous

This stream was literally the only thing I had to live for tonight. Hope they bring it back soon

Anonymous

Let's see how many comments this one gets - Over 200 already

Anonymous

Can I just take this moment and be clear here? Ben is a fucking faggot.

Anonymous

Is there gonna be a stream tonight?

Anonymous

I honestly think Ben is actually gay. He just gives off that vibe. Nothing wrong with that but he should just come out of the closet

Anonymous
>>11919028

There was. We're waiting on them to fix tech issues to try again. So we shall see.

Anonymous

scammers

Anonymous

Where is the FUCKING STREAM

Anonymous

times like these I think to myself 'come orn gord'

Anonymous

Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]Festus, Missouri City Festus, Missouri Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Location of Festus, Missouri Coordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″WCoordinates: 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W Country United States State Missouri County Jefferson Incorporated 1887 Government • Mayor Cpt. Mike Cage Area[1] • Total 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Land 5.71 sq mi (14.79 km2) • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 425 ft (130 m) Population (2010)[2] • Total 11,602 • Estimate (2016)[3] 12,104 • Density 2,000/sq mi (780/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 63028 Area code(s) 636 FIPS code 29-24094[4] GNIS feature ID 0736296[5] Festus is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 11,602 at the 2010 census.[6] Festus and its neighbor Crystal City are often collectively known as the "Twin Cities"; however, they are incorporated separately.festus is home to the butt king of the manatees brett keane and his waterheaded family. He entertains himself by beating his wife dorn,eating mac n cheese and making unwatchable youtube blogs. His favourite word's are situation indavidual and sit there Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 3.1 2010 census 3.2 2000 census 4 In popular culture 5 Education 6 News & Media 7 Transportation 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Geography Festus Balloon Festival Festus is located at 38°13′10″N 90°24′3″W (38.219490, -90.400936).[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.71 square miles (14.79 km2), all of it land.[1] History Festus was first called Tanglefoot, and under the latter name was platted in 1878.[8] A post office called Festus has been in operation since 1883.[9] Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1890 1,335 — 1900 1,250 −6.4% 1910 2,556 104.5% 1920 3,348 31.0% 1930 4,085 22.0% 1940 4,620 13.1% 1950 5,199 12.5% 1960 7,021 35.0% 1970 7,530 7.2% 1980 7,574 0.6% 1990 8,105 7.0% 2000 9,660 19.2% 2010 11,602 20.1% Est. 2016 12,104 [3] 4.3% U.S. Decennial Census[10] 2010 census As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 11,602 people, 4,636 households, and 3,036 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,031.9 inhabitants per square mile (784.5/km2). There were 4,972 housing units at an average density of 870.8 per square mile (336.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 4,636 households of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.5% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 26.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. 2000 census As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 9,660 people, 1,000 households, and 2,606 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,020.2 people per square mile (780.3/km²). There were 4,040 housing units at an average density of 844.9 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.66% White, 3.93% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.04% of the population. There were 3,861 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out with 5.8% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. Males had a median income of $36,159 versus $25,108 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,035. Aboot 7.0% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over. In popular culture Festus is the home of the alt-country band The Bottle Rockets.[11] The town is mentioned in the 1974 country song "(We're Not) The Jet Set," in which George Jones and Tammy Wynette sing aboot road tripping around the Midwestern and Southern part of the United States in a Chevrolet while falling in love.[12]

Anonymous

Is there a way to block someone. Cuz I want to block barlin menson

Anonymous

I'm not gonna sit around like a lemon all night?

Anonymous

If only they had more ALCOHOL

Anonymous

Really? There's no character limit on this?

Anonymous

ok come on now

GC1931

Penis

Anonymous

I wish they would at least update us so we don't just sit here with our dicks in our hands.

Anonymous

Who are you guys on YouTube? My sn is Ghost, maybe you've seen my excessive super chats

Anonymous

God damnit Marlin if I see you post on this god damn thread one more time

Anonymous

abit of communication would be nice

Anonymous

This wouldnt have happend if harambe was still alive

Anonymous

hour and a half late but yeah nah thats cool, totally cool... so cool

Anonymous
>>11919121

You think you've got it bad. I don't even have a dick to hold.

Anonymous

Drinking and problem solving go together well, I hear.

Anonymous

Who else thinks they just got drunk and passed out already?

GC1931

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Anonymous

cmorn gord

Anonymous

Alexandra you're pretty cute

Anonymous

Anyone listens to 「 ghostmane 」 ?

Anonymous

PEEEEENISah

Anonymous

idk. penis.

Anonymous

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Ryan

I wish they would you know, GIVE US SOME FUCKING INFO.

Anonymous

Confidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in ChinaConfidence trick From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Scam) "Con man" and "Scam" redirect here. For other uses, see Con Man (disambiguation), Confidence man (disambiguation), and Scam (disambiguation). "Confidence game" redirects here. For the 2016 film, see Confidence Game (film). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Political cartoon by JM Staniforth: Herbert Kitchener attempts to raise £100,000 for a college in Sudan by calling on the name of Charles George Gordon A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche, such as credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, and greed. Contents 1 Terminology 1.1 Short and long cons 2 Stages of the con 3 Vulnerability to confidence tricks 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Terminology The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches.[1] Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting aboot this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".[2] Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such.[2] The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name, the "confidence man".[2] A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", "stooge", "mugu", "rube" or "gulls" (i.e., gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills. Short and long cons A short con or small con is a fast swindle which takes just minutes. It typically aims to rob the victim of everything in his or her wallet.[3] A long con or big con (also, chiefly British English: long game)[4] is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuable things, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.[5] Stages of the con In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.[6] He notes that some steps may be omitted. Foundation Work Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required. Approach The victim is contacted. Build-up The victim is given an opportunity to profit from a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired. Pay-off or Convincer The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money, or faked in some way. In a gambling con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a stock market con, the victim is given fake dividends. The Hurrah A sudden crisis or change of events forces the victim to act immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. The In-and-In A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy to the scheme. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed. In addition, some games require a "corroboration" step, particularly those involving a "rare item". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.[6] Vulnerability to confidence tricks Confidence tricks exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. As such, there is no consistent profile of a confidence trick victim; the common factor is simply that the victim relies on the good faith of the con artist. Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility, and many con artists target the elderly, but even alert and educated people may be taken in by other forms of a confidence trick.[7] Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past. See also Boiler room (business) Charlatan Confidence trick (books and literature) Confidence trick (television and movies) Counterfeit Hijacked journals List of con artists List of confidence tricks List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates Quackery Racketeering Ripoff Scam baiting Scams in intellectual property Social engineering (security) White-collar crime References Jean Braucher & Barak Orbach, "Scamming: The Misunderstood Confidence Man," 27 Yale Journal of Law & Humanities 249 (2015) Braucher & Orbach. David Maurer, The Big Con Archived 2016-06-24 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter Eight: "Short-Con Games" Yagoda, Ben (June 5, 2012). "'The long game'". Not One-off Britishisms. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. This language blog, while not a reliable etymological source, provides statistically gathered usage data that demonstrates neutral as well as critical usage, and that it is of British origin, only recently making notable inroads into American English. Amy Reading, The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con Archived 2016-05-15 at the Wayback Machine., Chapter One: "Confidence" ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2 Edward H. Smith, Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers Archived 2016-04-24 at the Wayback Machine., p. 35-37. Crimes-of-persuasion.com Archived 2007-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Fraud Victim Advice / Assistance for Consumer Scams and Investment Frauds Further reading Bell, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception (reprint 1991). New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. Blundell, Nigel (1984) [1982]. The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. Dillon, Eamon (2008) [2008]. The Fraudsters: Sharks and Charlatans - How Con Artists Make Their Money. Merlin Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4. Ford, Charles V. (1999) [1999]. Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-0-88048-997-3. Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. Konnikova, Maria (2016). The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It...Every Time. ISBN 978-0525427414. Maurer, David W. (1999) [1940]. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game (reprinted). New York: Bobbs Merrill / Anchor Books. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. Reading, Amy (2012). The Mark Inside: A Perfect Swindle, a Cunning Revenge, and a Small History of the Big Con. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-47359-2. Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. Weil, J.R. "Yellow Kid" (1948) [2004]. Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-1737-5. Zhang, Yingyu (2017). The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231178631. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Common scams. "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849 Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man' The Blonger Bros. Lou Blonger was the head of a large gang of confidence men running the Big Con in 1910s Denver Prepaid funeral scam, FBI Confidence tricks in China

Anonymous

Ahola?

Anonymous

They probably all passed out after the stream ended

Redfield

Paul probably destroyed the studio

Anonymous

Please come back guys, I promise I'll never use the J word again

Anonymous

penis?

Anonymous

The zodiac killer got them

Anonymous

The Penis Festival, also known as the Kanamara Matsuri, takes place annually on the first Sunday of April at Kanayama Shrine. ... Another tale involves a woman who had a demon living in her vagina who twice bit off the penises of her newlywed husbands.

Anonymous

An intermission is only supposed to last like 10 minutes...it's been 80 min

Anonymous

Penis though. Where's Paul's penis?

Anonymous
>>11919276

I've had enough of you I'm reporting you to patreon for spamming and harassment

Anonymous

any word on that second link ?

Anonymous

This ain't gonna happen boys. We'll get a hideology explanation tomorrow. Goodnight

Anonymous
>>11919329

idk someone naughty didn't pay enough for us to see his PENIS

Anonymous

Ludwik Perzan fuck you lol

Anonymous

That's it we need to sacrifice a virgin to the tech gods for the DEEP FAT FRIED podcast

Anonymous

Well I turned on Patreon notifications on my phone. So hope to see you in the chat soon. If not have a good night!

Anonymous

Damn mates, this one dude that filled the comments with a wall of text just made it impossible to scroll through and ruined it.

Anonymous

Oh poop. Paul just tweeted that DFF is over.. they just broke up

Anonymous

oh penis

Anonymous

Well this is disappointing

Anonymous

just ordered dominos's... betting it gets here before stream restarts, lol

Redfield

The Gail-Shield must be down right now

Anonymous

Technically all they promised was a disaster of a show and they managed to deliver in less than 20 mins and now we’re all sitting around her like dumbasses.

Anonymous
>>11919445

The studio was hit by giant sentient tacos and burritos. At least it wasn't a nukakki!

Anonymous

penis happened

Anonymous

DFF is over guys they're breaking up. Good while it lasted

Anonymous

If they cancelled for the night, they would at least have told us. Right?

PugNacious

I see my fellow PEN15 Club members are here.

Hulkster x

Ashley is saying in the discord that they could be starting soon

Anonymous

they are PENIS HOLDERS!

Anonymous

So what's going on

Anonymous

So everyone's gone. No stream? Ok

Anonymous

Why am I still waiting for this an hour and a half later

Anonymous

I gawt all this mewnshine to drink with ya'll...

Anonymous

sounded pretty much okay to me, but sorry you had issues. hope to catch it later. look forward to it. thanks guys.

Anonymous

Damn, was pretty stoked for this...won’t be able to watch this until next weekend

Carl

Hey Ludwik, fuck off. Retard.

Shannon

I'm sorry but this shit was funny as hell.