Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game. In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward H. It aims to rob the victim of huge sums of money or valuables, often by getting them to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members. Ī "long con" or "big con" (also, chiefly British English: long game) is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks it may involve a team of swindlers, and even props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It typically aims to rob the victim of money or other valuables which they carry on their person or are guarding. When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills.Ī short con or "small con" is a fast swindle which takes just minutes, possibly seconds. The intended victims are known as marks, suckers, stooges, mugs, rubes, or gulls (from the word gullible). Ī confidence trick is also known as a con game, a finesse, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle, or a bamboozle. The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name "confidence man". Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained the reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical tone was not understood as such. Reporting about this arrest, James Houston, a reporter for the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man". A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches. ![]() 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. ![]() Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". The shell game dates back at least to Ancient Greece. The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a " grifter". ![]() Synonyms include con, confidence game, confidence scheme, ripoff, scam, and stratagem.
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