The Art of the Con

by R. Paul Wilson

  This turn of events changes everything; all the victim wants is to get away and protect his freedom no matter how much he might lose.

  A simple example of this is an investment scam where victims are told they can profit from a powerful new system that can predict the market with such accuracy that it’s almost guaranteed to make a profit. Once the mark is hooked, he is convinced to buy into the company but soon learns that the “system” relies on insider information gathered illegally by a team of hackers. Now, money is no longer the mark’s primary motivation. All he really wants is to get out before the police or the government moves in to arrest everyone. Another clever twist allows con artists to squeeze even more from their mark in order to walk away clean; a visit or a phone call from bogus investigators is sure to convince any mark to keep his head down.

  Certain scams are designed to make the victim appear responsible for any losses; others create fake scenarios where an unforeseen event or disaster apparently ruins everything. These strategies are excellent for making the mark walk away without knowing he was conned. In fact, hustlers sometimes use them to take a second swing at their sucker. If the mark feels he was to blame, he might beg for another chance.

  In the black money scam, there is a powerful cool-out that is sometimes used to back off a mark. During the scam, the hustler asks the mark to verify his story (that black paper can be changed into real money) for another potential customer, and the mark confirms what they genuinely believe at that time. Later, when they learn that they’ve been conned, the other “customer” confronts the mark and accuses him of being one of the scammers, perhaps threatening violence. This scenario can be so frightening that most people just want to get away.

  This form of bait and switch is a powerful way to keep a victim quiet, but nothing is certain; people can be impossible to predict once someone has been conned. Throughout history, con artists have come to a violent end at the hands of their once-innocent victims. Whether hung by an angry mob, shot by a humiliated mark, arrested, or merely tarred and feathered, being a con man is a dangerous profession and almost everyone has to face the music at some point. The cool-out, constructed or automatic, is certainly one of the strongest weapons in the con man’s arsenal, but it’s always a gamble. There’s always the chance that a victim is going to make a stand.

  On The Real Hustle, we interviewed a former victim of the black money scam who was suspected of sending several con men to the hospital. After learning that he had bought nothing more than ordinary black paper, the mark told the scammers that he wanted to buy even more. They quickly agreed to meet the mark again only to find out he brought several friends and a collection of blunt-edged weapons.

  Most con artists are remarkably brazen in their attitude. They just want to get the money, get out, and go after the next mark. It might seem satisfying to employ a few friends with baseball bats, but this is more likely to put the victim in jail than to recover any money or self-respect. Many are unfazed by victims who want to come after them, and previously charming and amiable con men quickly transform into hardened criminals when pursued. I would strongly urge anyone not to go after a grifter themselves—contact the police. More important, con artists are criminals and criminals tend to know many other bad people; always call the authorities and let them do their job.

  My own experience with HL at that bar in Maryland taught me that not confronting the reality of a scam is preferable to admitting I was almost a sucker. Until writing this book, I had only shared this story with one close friend, afraid it might somehow taint my reputation or make me seem foolish or less qualified. I’ve come to realize the opposite: This experience was incredibly valuable. It taught me that con artists can never be trusted and that, to them, I’m just another mark, waiting to get clipped.

  I often hear people say that “the best con game is where the mark doesn’t even know he was conned.” This is certainly true but, with a few exceptions (such as a well-run crooked card game), most marks soon realize that they were suckered somehow. The cool-out simply creates enough smoke for scammers to walk away, but that smoke eventually clears.

  The vast majority of cons and scams go unreported because victims are naturally inclined not to admit or confront what has happened to them. In some cases, hustlers deliberately construct situations that force their victims to keep quiet. Eventually, someone will ring the bell, forcing the scammers to adapt or run. This cat and mouse game will continue to go in cycles. However, there are ways to fight back and to make the hustler’s life more difficult.

  Footnote

  * In fact, I was carrying a lot of cash at the time. While I had not shown this to HL, he was able to surmise that I might be carrying a large bankroll.

  INTERLUDE: TRUE AND FALSE—

  HOLLYWOOD AND THE CON MAN

  For me, it all started with The Sting.

  George Roy Hill’s 1973 film about a team of con artists trying to scam a Chicago mobster during the Great Depression remains one of my all-time favorite pictures. Paul Newman and Robert Redford were perfect as charismatic charlatans playing a long con surrounded by a cast of colorful characters—cartoons of real-life con men from that era.

  It began my fascination with con games and introduced me to gambling sleight of hand as demonstrated by the hands of John Scarne during one unforgettable scene. I still remember watching it for the first time and the impact it had on me as a child, and have since seen it over a hundred times. It never fails to entertain or inspire, but as I’ve come to learn, it has very little to do with the world of real-life grifters.

  In The Sting, con men are honorable thieves who willingly come together to avenge a murdered member of their fraternity. For Johnny Hooker, the fledgling con man played by Redford, revenge is the primary motivation; he even rejects his piece of the take once the con is complete. It’s nothing more than an entertaining fantasy concocted from several sources to create a pitch-perfect Hollywood movie.

  In reality, con artists can certainly be charismatic, sometimes even cool, but mostly, they are remorseless and cold as ice. To be a grifter, one needs to be willing to sink to any level when going after the money. There are no limits, no restrictions, and no rules. Most assuredly, there’s rarely any honor among thieves.

  Not all movies present con artists so kindly as The Sting. In Nine Queens, director Fabián Bielinsky introduces us to two con artists as they scam their way around Buenos Aires before stumbling upon the opportunity of a lifetime. The film begins by concentrating on how the two grifters con innocent people but quickly becomes a character-driven story that leads to a satisfying conclusion. In Nine Queens, the hustlers are not glamorized, but the story is told from their perspective. The film depends on the audience’s natural fascination with the genre to draw them into the plot.

  David O. Russell’s excellent American Hustle draws from the notorious Abscam affair and creates a pair of hustlers who accurately reflect the kind of crooks who willfully prey upon people desperate for financial help. The film is a powerful portrayal of three people manipulating each other until the con artists find a way to escape their situation. However, the film bears little resemblance to the real events on which it is based. As the opening of the movie states, “some of this actually happened,” but a great deal was added or embellished in the name of entertainment. In particular, the motivation that drives Christian Bale’s con artist seems to shift as he feels remorse for bringing down Jeremy Renner’s Carmine Polito, the mayor of Camden. I find this extremely unlikely. In reality, the real con man’s only regret was probably that he wasn’t making any money from the affair.

  David Mamet’s House Of Games conjures a dark fascinating world filled with intriguing personalities who easily seduce the interest of Lindsay Crouse’s psychiatrist character. As we are taken deeper into Mamet’s version of this world, we see past their fascinating methods to uncover a vicious, remorseless cabal of low-life hustlers. The con artists in Mamet’s later film The Spanish Prisoner prove to b
e equally repugnant, even resorting to murder to accomplish their goals. Throughout the story the con men are charming, but their true colors are clearly shown when the mark needs to be “taken care of” at the end of the picture. It’s hard to accuse Mamet of glorifying con men, though he certainly makes them interesting. He uses them to compose stories filled with intrigue without compromising their motivation as con artists.

  Stephen Frears’ The Grifters, based on a novel by Jim Thompson, introduces the audience to three hustlers: John Cusack’s short-con operator, his girlfriend with a background in the long con (Annette Bening), and his mother, who is part of a large bookmaking organization (played perfectly by Anjelica Huston). This film illustrates not only con games in action, but the repercussions of living in that world. Violence, murder, theft, prostitution, and even incest affect and ultimately destroy the lives of the characters in this brilliant piece of drama.

  The cons portrayed in these movies are usually dramatic variations on old con games. In House Of Games, the card-game scam is a variation on The Tip, a con game where the victim is asked to signal information but after making a mistake, either loses a lot of money or is forced to cover a debt. In American Hustle, the con artists turn the tables on the FBI with a variation on the original Spanish Prisoner scam while Mamet’s movie (called The Spanish Prisoner) features a complex con that is actually an ingenious Separate and Lift scam where the titular con is used only as part of the distraction.

  In reality, con games, cheating, or acts of deception depend on the circumstance in which they occur and the actions of those being conned. There is no surefire method or guaranteed system to hustle a mark, but a series of objectives that contribute to the success of a sting. Con games can therefore provide writers and filmmakers with a never-ending source of stories, and while they might mostly be fictional, they can serve to expose or educate people about the possibilities that exist.

  There is a natural attraction to con games because people are drawn to anything that seems clever or skillful. Con artists who manipulate people and cheaters who perform feats of incredible dexterity are fascinating to audiences and a handful of performers capitalize on this.

  The master of this genre is Ricky Jay, who is both a highly accomplished magician and an authority on con artists and their methods. Jay brings this world to life through his shows and his written work, and I have no doubt that his friendship and professional relationship with David Mamet has been mutually rewarding since Mamet’s insight into the nature of con artists seems to be in tune with Jay’s.

  Ricky Jay is also one of the finest sleight of hand experts I’ve ever seen. His live shows feature staggering demonstrations of skill as he easily locates the four aces and deals cards from any part of the deck to dazzle his audience. But, as Jay points out, there’s a big difference between sleight of hand for entertainment and making moves at a card table. Whereas a royal flush dealt from a shuffled deck might result in a standing ovation for Ricky Jay, it might send a genuine “mechanic” to the morgue. In reality, a professional card shark would need only a tiny fraction of Ricky’s skill, using just one or two moves to get the money without attracting attention. Jay is an expert showman in every sense of the word, but what he demonstrates is not reality but a fantastic compilation of show-stopping sleight of hand that would be mostly unnecessary, if not dangerous, in a real game. He’s an entertainer who builds his shows around classic effects while sharing fascinating stories filled with colorful characters, incredible anecdotes, and unforgettable demonstrations.

  Drama, pathos, action, and comedy make for great entertainment, but real-life con games are usually banal by comparison. In a scam, nothing dramatic really happens because in order to make something seem real, it should appear almost ordinary. On reflection, a con might be dissected into phases or elements, but even with the most outlandish scams, the victim is assured by a sense of normalcy.

  This depends a great deal on the hustler’s personality, but I have found that, even in the most extreme scenarios, a sense of calm certainty on my part helps to give the mark confidence and keep him on track until the sting. Melodrama can be useful, but it needs to serve a purpose, and the mark needs something or someone to anchor or guide him. I’ve threatened my TV marks with arrest, intimidated them physically, and orchestrated arguments or events to force a desired reaction, but most of the time this is just an ingredient or a convincer. It is in the calmer moments that I can convince the mark to move toward what he wants or needs.

  It’s possible to entertain and inform at the same time. In The Takedown, Scammed, and The Real Hustle, I had to film each con or heist quickly, which meant having to squeeze all of the elements together without much time to let the mark think. This created many challenges, but the cons are more exciting this way and it makes for better television, which is why our show ran for eleven seasons.

  The Hollywood version of con men can vary from funny or charming raconteurs to cunning thieves who would stop at nothing to get what they want. It might seem that anyone could turn their hand to the art of deception if they knew a trick or two. In reality, though con artists come in all shapes and sizes, their raison d’etre remains the same: to take whatever they can by any means necessary. Without being able to detach from the repercussions of one’s actions, it would be impossible to succeed as a con artist. Hustlers ruin lives without remorse, often blaming their victims for believing their lies. It takes a specific type of personality to show empathy, build conviction, and foster a relationship before betraying someone’s trust without suffering an ounce of guilt.

  In The Sting, the marks are all criminals who deserve what happens to them; in reality, hustlers prey on anyone worth taking down, and honest, hard-working people often make the easiest targets. I often hear the old phrase “you can’t cheat an honest man.” In my experience, that’s bullshit.

  Not every hustler is a master con man. Most are just common criminals employing proven methods to prey on the unwary. A crooked genius might develop a new con or a clever twist on an old scam, but once it has proven successful, it can spread like a virus to less sophisticated grifters.

  Online scammers quickly pick up on new ways to steal money. The Internet offers less risk and greater anonymity, so any variation or new idea quickly spreads to a swarm of digital deceivers. This ability to hide online allows almost any scam to be attempted there; but, in the real world, con artists are much more careful about adopting new ideas. Con games begin to grow once all the kinks have been worked out and information starts to circulate. A really great method for a scam might be kept secret for years in order to stop it from “getting out” and becoming overplayed, but eventually they are all shared or traded until the ideas reach the common herd.

  In my experience, most hustlers care only about the potential score and take little to no interest in how or why their scams work. Occasionally, I’ve met individuals (such as HL) who may know a lot of cons, but ultimately care only about making money and looking for new ways to steal. While intelligence and cunning are common in con games, these qualities are often found more in the scam than the scammer. In real-life con games, played directly on a live mark, it’s more likely that the con artist is smart enough to play the part and adapt to most circumstances; but online scams don’t require much of a brain or personality to pull off.

  It’s important to note that not all con artists are experts in the art of deception. Many are simply street-smart crooks willing to do or say anything to take a buck; but the methods they employ are often the product of much more talented minds. Con games are built upon strategies that have proven to be very effective over time and become powerful tools in the hands of anyone willing to apply them. There’s only one Shakespeare, but there are plenty of actors who try to re-enact the product of his genius. It is therefore in the best interest of the public to share these methods as widely as possible and to keep them high in the public consciousness.

  The Internet has proven to be a powerful t
ool for scammers, but it can also severely limit the lifespan of an effective con. A good idea is quickly overused as the Internet becomes saturated with similar attempts to trick victims into giving up secure and personal information or get involved in the latest variation of the Spanish Prisoner or Pigeon Drop. News agencies and social media soon spread the word about the latest scams, but since most of us are now bombarded with information on a daily basis, the regeneration cycle for ideas (crooked or otherwise) has become shorter. New versions of old scams quickly reappear.

  What remains constant are the underlying principles of hook, line, and sinker; almost universally, scams depend on the victim’s circumstance and state of mind. Almost all con games are simply old wine in new bottles. By keeping the public engaged and interested in all varieties of confidence tricks, I genuinely believe it will become much more difficult to design and pull off effective scams. Why shouldn’t ordinary people be armed with the same (or superior) information as those who might prey upon them?

  In the coming chapters, we will explore many different types of scams to learn how the elements of “hook, line, and sinker” are employed to get the money. The principles remain the same and can be easily identified if you stop, think, and reassess any scenario. Always remember that con games are much easier to identify from the outside but surprisingly easy to fall for from the inside. The art of the con is in making an ordinarily transparent lie appear completely real to the mark. And, as in all seduction, the target is often blind to everything but his own desire.

  CARNIVAL OF CONS

  There was a tidal wave at Coney Island, when I was a child, ripped up the boardwalk and did about a million dollars worth of damage, houses and everything. The only thing left standing was those little milk bottles.