Confidence trick

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A confidence trick (also known as a scam) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence. A confidence artist (also known as con artist) is an individual operating alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty, honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, naïveté, or greed.

Terminology

The perpetrator of a confidence trick is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, woman or artist, or a "grifter". The first known usage of the term "confidence man" in English was in 1849 in New York City. It was used by the New York press during the trial of William Thompson. Thompson chatted with strangers until he asked if they had the confidence to lend him their watches, whereupon he would walk off with the watch. He was captured when a victim recognized him on the street.^[1]

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" or "suckers", and when accomplices are employed, they are known as shills.

In David Mamet's film House of Games, the main con artist gives a slightly different description of the "confidence game". He explains that, in a typical swindle, the con man gives the mark his own confidence, encouraging the mark to in turn trust him. The con artist thus poses as a trustworthy person seeking another trustworthy person.

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 confidence trick.^[2]

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.

A greedy or dishonest victim may attempt to out-cheat the perpetrator, eventually realizing that he or she had been manipulated into losing from the beginning.

See also

References

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. http://books.google.com/books?id=ojmw SoW8g7IC.
• 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. http://books.google.com/books?id=_FSc 5C2bFYUC.
• Henderson, Les (2000). Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds. Coyote Ridge Publishing. ISBN 0-9687133-0-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=-aJ8 d_oewg8C.
• Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=YIGz IaNmokgC.
• 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. http://books.google.com/books?id=jxbb V5x66usC&dq.
• Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=W6tw AAAACAAJ.
• Smith, Jeff (2009). Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel. Juneau: Klondike Research. ISBN 0-9819743-0-9. http://www.soapysmith.net/id50.html.
• Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief (reprint 1989). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=muZu Pt327pwC.

External links

• "Arrest of the Confidence Man" New York Herald, 1849
• Dateline NBC investigation 'To Catch a Con Man'