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A confidence trick or confidence game, more often known as a con, scam, swindle, grift, bunko, flim flam, stratagem, or scheme, is an attempt to swindle a person or people (known as the "mark" or sometimes "griftee") which involves gaining his or her confidence. (For confidence tricks dealing with information theft or computers see social engineering.) Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Look up scam, scammer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A confidence man is someone who takes advantage of someone else usually for financial gain using what is known as a confidence trick. ... Grifter is a fictional comic book character from Wildstorm Universe. ... Anjelica Huston (born July 8, 1951) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actress and former fashion model. ... The Grifters is a 1990 film which tells the story of a long-time female con artist who begins to rethink her life when her son, also a con artist, is beaten following a failed con. ... Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions is a 1982 book by magician and skeptic James Randi about paranormal, occult, and pseudoscience claims. ... The Big Store is a 1941 MGM Marx Brothers comedy film in which Groucho, Chico and Harpo work to save the Phelps department store. ... This article is about the manipulation of individuals. ...

[edit] History

The first known usage of the term "confidence man" was in 1849; it was used by the 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] For other persons named William Thompson, see William Thompson (disambiguation). ...

[edit] Vulnerability to confidence tricks

Persons of any level of intelligence are vulnerable to deception by experienced con artists. Confidence tricks exploit human weaknesses like greed, dishonesty, vanity, but also virtues like honesty, compassion, or a naïve expectation of good faith on the part of the con artist. Look up greed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Dishonesty is a term which in common usage may be defined as the act of being dishonest; to act without honesty; a lack of probity, to cheat, lying or being deliberately deceptive; lacking in integrity; to be knavish, perfidious, corrupt or treacherous; charlatanism or quackery. ... For other uses, see Vanity (disambiguation). ... Honest redirects here, For other uses, see Honesty (disambiguation) Look up honesty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Compassion is best described as an understanding of the emotional state of another; not to be confused with empathy. ... Naïve is Industrial rock group KMFDMs fourth album, released in 1990. ...

Just as there is no typical profile for swindlers, neither is there one for their victims. Virtually anyone can fall prey to fraudulent crimes. … Certainly victims of high-yield investment frauds may possess a level of greed which exceeds their caution as well as a willingness to believe what they want to believe. However, not all fraud victims are greedy, risk-taking, self-deceptive individuals looking to make a quick dollar. Nor are all fraud victims naive, uneducated, or elderly.^[2]

Confidence tricksters often rely on the greed and dishonesty of the mark, who may attempt to out-cheat the con artist, only to discover that he or she has been manipulated into losing from the very beginning. This is such a general principle in confidence tricks that there is a saying among con men that "you can't cheat an honest man."^[3]

Nevertheless, some tricks depend on the honesty of the victim. In a common scam, as part of an apparently legitimate transaction, the victim is sent a worthless check, which the victim then deposits. The victim is then urged to forward the apparent value of the check to the trickster as cash, possibly keeping a small portion of the money as a commission, which they may do before discovering the check bounces. Another fashionable scenario (as of 2006) has the victim recruited as a "financial agent" to collect "business debts". Paper checks are not always involved: funds may be transferred electronically from another victim. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Cheque. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sometimes con men rely on naive individuals who put their confidence in get-rich-quick schemes, such as "too good to be true" investments. It may take years for the wider community to discover that such investment schemes are bogus. By the time they are discovered, many people may have lost their life savings to something in which they have been persuaded to invest. A Get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to acquire high rates of return for a small investment. ...

The confidence trickster often works with one or more accomplices called shills, who help manipulate the mark into accepting the con man'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 random strangers who have benefited from successfully performing the task. A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services who pretends no association to the seller and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer. ...

[edit] Notable con artists

[edit] Born in the 18th century

• Gregor MacGregor (1786–1845) – Scottish conman who tried to attract investment and settlers for a non-existent country of Poyais^[4]

Gregor MacGregor (December 24, 1786 – early December 3, 1845) was a Scottish soldier, adventurer and colonizer who fought in the South American struggle for independence. ... Poyais was 1820s fraudulent Central American country and creation of its supposed cazique Gregor MacGregor who used it to entice investment and even colonization. ...

[edit] Born/active in the 19th century

• William Thompson (active in 1840–1849) – US criminal whose deceptions caused the term confidence man to be coined^[5]
• Lou Blonger (1849–1924) – organized massive ring of con men in Denver in early 1900s^[6]
• Soapy Smith (1860–1898) — confidence gang boss, who operated in Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska
• George C. Parker (1870–1936) — US con man who sold New York monuments to tourists^[7]
• Scotty (1872–1954) a prospector, performer, and con man, who was made famous by his many scams involving gold mining and the iconic mansion in Death Valley, popularly known as Scotty's Castle
• Joseph Weil (1875–1976) – one of the most famous American con men of his era^[8]
• Horace de Vere Cole (1881–1936)
• Charles Ponzi (1882–1949) – Italian immigrant into the US; "Ponzi scheme" is a "get rich fast" fraud named after him^[9]
• Victor Lustig (1890–1947) – born in Bohemia (today's Czech Republic) and known as "the man who sold the Eiffel Tower"^[10]
• Canada Bill Jones – riverboat gambler and card shark

For other persons named William Thompson, see William Thompson (disambiguation). ... Lou The Fixer Blonger (May 13, 1849–April 20, 1924), born Louis Belonger, was a Civil War veteran, saloonkeeper, detective and well-known gambler, but is most often noted as the organizer of an extensive ring of confidence tricksters in Denver that operated for more than 25 years. ... This article refers to the state capital of Colorado. ... Jefferson Randolph (Soapy) Smith II (1860-July 8, 1898) was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska from 1879 to 1898. ... Nickname: Location of Denver in the State of Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: , Country United States State State of Colorado City and County Denver[1] Founded 1858-11-22, as Denver City, K.T.[2] Incorporated 1861-11-07, as Denver City, C.T.[3] Consolidated... Creede is a town located in Mineral County, Colorado. ... Broadway Avenue, Skagway, May 2007. ... George Parker (1870-1936) was one of the most audacious con men in American history. ... Death Valley Scotty and two of his beloved mules. ... Joseph Yellow Kid Weil (1877-1975) was one of the most famous American confidence men of his era. ... William Horace de Vere Cole (May 5, 1881–February 25, 1936) was a British eccentric prankster. ... Charles Ponzi (March 3, 1882–January 18, 1949) was an Italian immigrant to the United States who became one of the greatest swindlers in American history. ... A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns (profits) to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business. ... Victor Lustig (January 4, 1890 – March 11, 1947) is held to have been one of the most talented confidence tricksters who ever lived. ... For other uses, see Bohemia (disambiguation). ... The Eiffel Tower (French: , ) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. ... Canada Bill Jones was the working nickname of William Jones, a noted confidence artist, riverboat gambler and card sharp. ... A card shark is an expert card game player who feasts on weaker fish players. ...

[edit] Born/active in the 20th century

• Eduardo de Valfierno – Argentine con man who allegedly masterminded the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911
• Bernie Cornfeld (1927–1995) – ran one of the greatest scams in history which was later realized to be a Ponzi scheme^[11]

Eduardo de Valfierno, who referred to himself as Marques Eduardo de Valfierno, was an Argentine con man who masterminded the theft of the Mona Lisa. ... For other uses, see Mona Lisa (disambiguation). ... Bernard Bernie Cornfeld (Istanbul 17 August 1927 - London 27 February 1995) was a prominent businessman and international financier who sold investments in US mutual funds. ...

[edit] Living people

• Clifford Irving (1930) – US writer, best known for an "authorized autobiography" of Howard Hughes that turned out to be a hoax
• Frank Abagnale (1948) – former US con artist, check forger and impostor; his autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, was made into a movie^[12]
• James Arthur Hogue (1959) – US impostor who most famously entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan^[13]
• Robert Hendy-Freegard (1971) — British con artist who kidnapped people impersonating as an MI5 agent and conned them out of money; he was convicted in 2005^[14]
• Gert Postel (1958) – German medical con, a simple postman who for decades pretended to be a medical doctor, worked from 1995 for almost 2 years as a psychiatrist in a small province hospital in Saxony

For the politician, see Clifford Irving (politician). ... For the Welsh murderer, see Howard Hughes (murderer). ... Frank William Abagnale, Jr. ... Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 motion picture set in the 1960s. ... James Arthur Hogue (born October 22, 1959) is a US impostor who most famously entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Robert Hendy-Freegard (born 1974) is a British barman, car salesman, conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled several people to go underground for fear of IRA assassination. ... MI-5 redirects here. ...

[edit] Fictional portrayals

[edit] Movies and television

• The Lady Eve (1941) – directed by Preston Sturges; the main character, Jean Harrington (Barbara Stanwyck), is a con artist.

The Lady Eve is a 1941 romantic screwball comedy film which tells the story of a couple who meet on a luxury liner. ... Preston Sturges (August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959), originally Edmund Preston Biden, was a celebrated screenwriter and director born in Chicago. ... Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was a four-time Academy Award-nominated, three-time Emmy Award-winning, and Golden Globe-winning American actress of film, stage, and screen. ...

[edit] 1950s

• Racket Squad (1951–1953) – TV series in the style of Dragnet with all episodes focused on confidence crimes.
• The Rainmaker (1956) – directed by Joseph Anthony; the main character, Bill Starbuck (Burt Lancaster), is a con artist.
• Witness for the Prosecution (1957) — directed by Billy Wilder

A dragnet is any system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects; including road barricades and traffic stops, widespread DNA tests, and general increased police alertness. ... Joseph Anthony (May 24, 1912– January 20, 1993) was an American playwright and director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ... Burt Lancaster (2 November 1913 – 20 October 1994) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor, noted for his athletic physique, distinct smile (which he called The Grin) and, later, his willingness to play roles that went against his initial tough guy image. ... Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 crime film based on a short story (and later play) by Agatha Christie. ... Billy Wilder (June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-born, Jewish-American journalist, screenwriter, film director, and producer whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. ...

[edit] 1960s

• The Music Man (1962) — produced and directed by Morton DaCosta; the main character, Harold Hill (Robert Preston), is a con artist.
• Mission: Impossible (1966–73 TV series) – the IMF team's adventures usually take the form of an elaborate con game in which the villain is the mark. Series writer William Read Woodfield was a self-professed confidence enthusiast.
• The Flim-Flam Man (1967) — directed by Irvin Kershner; the main character, Mordecai Jones (George C. Scott), is a con artist.
• The Producers (1968) – written and directed by Mel Brooks; the main characters, Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) and Leopold Bloom (Gene Wilder), are con artists.

The Music Man is a 1962 film musical starring Robert Preston as Harold Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian Paroo. ... Morton DaCosta (March 7, 1914 - January 26, 1989) was an American theatre and film director, film producer, writer, and actor. ... Robert Preston (1918 - 1987) was an American actor. ... Mission: Impossible is the name of an American television series which aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to September 1973. ... The Flim-Flam Man is a 1967 film starring George C. Scott. ... Irvin Kershner (born April 29, 1923) is an American film director born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 - September 22, 1999) was a stage and film actor, director, and producer. ... This page is about the 1968 film. ... Mel Brooks (born June 28, 1926) is an Academy Award-winning American director, writer, comedian, actor and producer best known as a creator of broad film farces and comedy parodies. ... Max Bialystock is a fictional character and main protagonist who first appeared in Mel Brooks 1969 movie, The Producers, played by Zero Mostel. ... Mostel in Sirocco (1951) Zero Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was a Brooklyn-born stage and film actor best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof , Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max... Leopold Bloom is a fictional character in James Joyces novel Ulysses. ... Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933) is an American actor who is best known for his role as Willy Wonka, his collaborations with Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein, and his four movies with Richard Pryor: Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, See No Evil...

[edit] 1970s

• Midnight Cowboy — directed by John Schlesinger; the main character, Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) is a small-time con artist.
• Skin Game (1971) – directed by Paul Bogart; the main characters, Quincy Drew (James Garner) and Jason O'Rourke (Louis Gossett Jr.), con people.
• The Sting (1973) – directed by George Roy Hill; two professional grifters, Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) and Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) try to con a mob boss

This article is about the 1969 film. ... John Richard Schlesinger CBE (February 16, 1926 – July 25, 2003) was an English film director. ... This article is about the 1969 film. ... Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is a two-time Academy Award-winning, BAFTA-winning, and five-time Golden Globe-winning American method actor. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Paul Bogart (born November 21, 1919) is an American TV and film director. ... For other uses, see James Garner (disambiguation). ... Louis Gossett Jr. ... This article is about the 1973 film involving con artists. ... George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an Academy Award winning American film director. ... Robert Redford (born August 18, 1936)[1] is an Academy Award-winning American motion picture director, actor, producer, businessman, model, environmentalist and philanthropist. ... This article is about the American actor and race team owner. ...

[edit] 1980s

• The A-Team (1983–1986, TV) — created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell; con tricks are performed mostly by team member Tempelton Peck (played by Dirk Benedict)
• House of Games (1987) – directed by David Mamet; features con artists as main characters
• The Vanishing (1988) – directed by George Sluizer; directed by Frank Oz the main character is a victim of a confidence trick; a remake was released in 1993
• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) – directed by Frank Oz; main characters, Freddy Benson (Steve Martin) and Lawrence Jamieson (Michael Caine), are con artists

For the United States Army military unit, see The A-Team (military). ... Frank Lupo is an American television writer and producer. ... Stephen Joseph Cannell, known professionally as Stephen J. Cannell (born February 5, 1941), (IPA pronunciation: ), rhymes with channel, is an Emmy award winning American television producer, writer, novelist and occasional actor from the United States. ... Lt. ... Dirk Benedict (born Dirk Niewoehner on March 1, 1945) is an American movie and television actor, perhaps best known for playing the characters Lt. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... David Alan Mamet (born November 30, 1947) is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. ... The Vanishing (Spoorloos) is a film directed by George Sluizer and produced by Anne Lordon and George Sluizer. ... George Sluizer (born June 25, 1932 in Paris, France) is a Dutch filmmaker. ... Frank Oz (born May 25, 1944) is an American film director, actor and puppeteer. ... The Vanishing is a 1993 thriller starring Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis, and Sandra Bullock. ... Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a 1988 comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine as the con artists of the title. ... Frank Oz (born May 25, 1944) is an American film director, actor and puppeteer. ... For other uses, see Steve Martin (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English actor. ...

[edit] 1990s

• The Grifters (1990) – directed by Stephen Frears; the story of Lilly Dillon (Anjelica Huston), a con artist
• Diggstown (1992) – directed by Michael Ritchie; the main character, Gabriel Caine (James Woods), is a con man
• Six Degrees of Separation (1993) – directed by Fred Schepisi; the plot was inspired by the real-life story of David Hampton, a con man
• The Usual Suspects (1995) – directed by Bryan Singer; the main character, Roger 'Verbal' Kint (Kevin Spacey), is a con man
• Traveller (1997) – Bokky (Bill Paxton) is a confidence man
• The Spanish Prisoner (1997) – directed by David Mamet; named after the confidence game "Spanish Prisoner"
• The Pest (1997 film) — Pestario 'Pest' Vargas (John Leguizamo) is a Latino con man

The Grifters is a 1990 film which tells the story of a long-time female con artist who begins to rethink her life when her son, also a con artist, is beaten following a failed con. ... Stephen Frears in Sweden, 1989 promoting his movie Dangerous Liaisons. ... Anjelica Huston (born July 8, 1951) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning American actress and former fashion model. ... Diggstown is a movie directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring James Woods, Louis Gossett, Jr. ... Michael Ritchie (November 28, 1938 - April 16, 2001) was an American film director Michael Ritchie is also the name of an English college student in East Sussex who is famous for writing three novels for teenagers about teenage life. ... For other persons named James Woods, see James Woods (disambiguation). ... For the Battlestar Galactica episode, see Six Degrees of Separation (Battlestar Galactica). ... Frederick Alan Schepisi AO (born 26 December 1939) is an Australian film director and scriptwriter who was born in Melbourne, Victoria. ... David Hampton (1964-2003) was an African-American con artist who gained infamy in the 1980s after bilking a group of wealthy Manhattanites out of thousands of dollars by convincing them he was Sidney Poitiers son. ... The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. ... Bryan Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American film director. ... Kevin Spacey (born July 26, 1959) is an Academy Award-winning American actor (film and stage) and director. ... Traveller is an American film released in 1997, starring Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, and Julianna Margulies. ... William Bill Paxton (born May 17, 1955) is a Golden Globe-nominated, Saturn Award-winning American actor and film director. ... This article is about the movie. ... David Alan Mamet (born November 30, 1947) is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. ... The Spanish Prisoner is a confidence game dating back to 1588 [1]. In its original form, the confidence artist (con-man) tells his victim (the mark) that he is in correspondence with a wealthy person of high estate who has been imprisoned in Spain (originally by King Philip II) under... For the film starring Oliver Hardy, see The Pest (1917 film). ... John Leguizamo (born July 22, 1964) is an Emmy-winning and Golden Globe Award-nominated American comedian, actor and producer. ...

[edit] 2000s

• Boiler Room (2000) – directed by Ben Younger. Giovanni Ribisi plays entry-level investment broker working in a boiler room operation as part of a microcap stock fraud, with Ben Affleck and Vin Diesel.
• Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas) (2000) – directed by Fabián Bielinsky; tells the story of two con artists who meet by chance and decide to cooperate in a scam; remade as Criminal (2004)
• The Prime Gig (2000) – directed by Gregory Mosher; Pendelton "Penny" Wise (Vince Vaughn) is a con artist
• Birthday Girl (2001) – directed by Jez Butterworth; the main character, John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin), is a victim of a scam based on the con
• Heist (2001) — directed by David Mamet; the plot is based on a confidence game
• Heartbreakers (2001) – directed by David Mirkin; Max (mother) and Page Conners (daughter) con women
• Ocean's Eleven (2001) (remake of the 1960 film by Lewis Milestone) and sequels Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007) – directed by Steven Soderbergh; films about con artists and the con
• The Score (2001) — directed by Frank Oz; the main characters try to con one another
• Catch Me If You Can (2002) — directed by Steven Spielberg; story about a real-life con artist and impostor Frank Abagnale
• Confidence (2003) – directed by James Foley; a group of con artists attempt to rip off a corrupt bank president
• Matchstick Men (2003) – directed by Ridley Scott; the main characters are con artists
• Shade (2003) – directed by Damian Nieman; story about poker hustlers who try to con other players
• Hustle (2004 – present) — a BBC series about a team of con artists
• Criminal (2004) — directed by Gregory Jacobs; about a team of con artists
• Lost (2004), TV series, two characters, James "Sawyer" Ford and Anthony Cooper, are both con-artists.
• A Con (2005) — created by a con artist Skyler Stone, who reveals the secrets of his profession by performing confidence tricks, scams, and hoaxes
• Revolver (2005) &mndash; directed by Guy Ritchie; one of the main characters, Jake Green (Jason Statham), is a con artist, and the premise of the film is a con
• Bluffmaster (2005) — directed by Rohan Sippy; the main character, Roy, is a professional conman
• Colour Me Kubrick (2006) – directed by Brian W. Cook; based on a true story of Alan Conway, who posed as director Stanley Kubrick
• Lucky Number Slevin (2006) – directed by Paul McGuigan; main character, Slevin Kelevra (Josh Hartnett) performs an elaborate con as a revenge
• The Real Hustle (2006 – present) — BBC series; actors playing a team of ex-grifters explain the secrets of the con to the public
• Kurosagi (2006) — Japanese drama that reflects on the art of different cons and swindling methods.Starring Yamashita Tomohisa
• Believe (2007) — directed by Loki Mulholland; a mockumentary about multi-level marketing
• Great World of Sound (2007) — directed by Craig Zobel; a film about pay-for-singing style cons in the music industry
• The Riches (2007) — FX series about a nomadic, drifter family
• Futurama: Bender's Big Score (2007) — film based on the TV series of the same name; the villains of the film are Internet scammers

Boiler Room is a 2000 U.S. drama, written and directed by Ben Younger, and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel and Nia Long. ... Ben Younger (born 7 October, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a Jewish American screenwriter and film director. ... Antonino Giovanni Ribisi (born December 17, 1974) is an American actor. ... Microcap stock fraud, also known as microcap fraud, is a form of securities fraud involving stocks of microcap companies, generally defined as having a market capitalization of under $250 million. ... For the American cement businessman, see B. F. Affleck. ... Vin Diesel (born Mark Sinclair Vincent on July 18, 1967) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. ... Nine Queens (original title in Spanish, Nueve reinas) is a 2000 Argentine film directed by Fabián Bielinsky and starring Gastón Pauls, Ricardo Darín, Leticia Brédice and Tomás Fonzi. ... Fabián Bielinsky is an Argentinian film director. ... Criminal is a 2004 film based upon the Argentinian film Nine Queens. ... The Prime Gig is a 2001 film directed by Gregory Mosher, starring Vince Vaughn, Julia Ormond, and Ed Harris. ... Gregory Mosher presently serves as Director of the Columbia University Arts Initiative. ... Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American film actor. ... Birthday Girl is a 2001 British Film Four-backed film featuring Nicole Kidman as a Russian mail-order bride. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Ben Chaplin (born Benedict Greenwood on 31 July 1970, Sunderland) is an English actor who first came to public attention for his performance as Matthew Malone in the first series of the sitcom Game On. ... Heist poster Heist is a crime thriller written and directed by David Mamet, and released in November 2001. ... David Alan Mamet (born November 30, 1947) is an American author, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. ... Heartbreakers is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by David Mirkin. ... Mirkin at Comic Con 2007. ... Oceans Eleven is a 2001 remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper film of the same name. ... Oceans Eleven is a 1960 heist film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring five Rat Packers: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. ... Oceans Twelve is a 2004 film that takes place after the events of the 2001 movie Oceans Eleven. ... Oceans Thirteen is a 2007 film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring an ensemble cast. ... Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and Oscar-winning director. ... The Score is a 2001 crime drama. ... Frank Oz (born May 25, 1944) is an American film director, actor and puppeteer. ... Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 motion picture set in the 1960s. ... Steven Allan Spielberg, (Honorary KBE, born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Frank William Abagnale, Jr. ... Confidence is a 2003 film starring Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz and directed by James Foley. ... James Foley (born December 23, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American film director and screenwriter. ... Matchstick Men is a 2003 film starring Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman. ... Sir Ridley Scott (born November 30, 1937 in South Shields, South Tyneside) is a British film director and producer. ... Shade is a 2003 neo-noir crime drama starring Stuart Townsend, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx, Roger Guenveur Smith, Melanie Griffith and Sylvester Stallone. ... For the domestic fireplace tool, see fireplace poker. ... Hustle is a British television comedy-drama series made by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Criminal is a 2004 film based upon the Argentinian film Nine Queens. ... LOST redirects here. ... James Ford, better known by the alias Sawyer, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Josh Holloway. ... Anthony Cooper is a nerdy boy who has nothing but Video Games in his life, he enjoys watching every Anime that comes his way. ... Con is a television series on Comedy Central in which con artist Skyler Stone reveals the secrets of his profession by performing confidence tricks, scams, and hoaxes of various degrees of complexity on camera. ... Skyler Stone (born Skyler Clipner, January 1, 1980) is an American actor. ... Revolver is a 2005 movie, written and directed by Guy Ritchie. ... Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968 in Hatfield, Hertfordshire[1][2]) is an English screenwriter and film director. ... Jason Statham (born 12 September 1972) is an English actor, known for his definitive masculine roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Revolver and Snatch. ... Bluffmaster is a Bollywood movie released on 16 December 2005, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani and Nana Patekar. ... Rohan Sippy is an Indian film director who has directed two films- Kuch Naa Kaho (IMDb) and Bluffmaster (IMDb). ... Colour Me Kubrick is a comedy-drama film scheduled to be released in early 2006. ... Alan Conway (born Eddie Alan Jablowsky in Whitechapel, London in 1934; died December 5, 1998) became known for impersonating the film director Stanley Kubrick. ... Kubrick redirects here. ... Lucky Number Slevin (also known as Lucky # Slevin or The Wrong Man) is a 2006 crime thriller film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu, Stanley Tucci and Bruce Willis. ... Guigsy, acknowleged as the quiet Oasis member Paul McGuigan (aka: Guigsy) (b. ... Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. ... The Real Hustle is a BBC television series made by Objective Productions demonstrating confidence and magic tricks, distraction scams and proposition bets performed on members of the public by presenters, Alexis Conran, Paul Wilson and Jessica-Jane Clement. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Believe is a Mockumentary/Comedy about the world of Multi-Level Marketing or MLM. Believe is set in a town called Springfield. ... Mockumentary (also known as a pseudo-documentary)[1], a portmanteau of mock and documentary, is a film and TV genre, or a single work of the genre. ... The Riches (styled as The Rı¢hes in promotional material) is an Emmy Award-nominated FX television series starring Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver. ... FX (for Fox eXtended Networks) is the name of a number of related subscription TV channels owned by News Corporations Fox Entertainment Group. ... This article is about the television series. ...

[edit] Notable confidence tricks in literature

[edit] 19^th century

• The Confidence-Man (1857) — novel by Herman Melville; the main character tests confidence of other people
• Les Misérables (1862) — novel by Victor Hugo; the Thénardiers, two of the primary villains, scam money from people
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) — novel by Mark Twain; two characters, The Duke and the Dauphin are grifters
• "The Red-Headed League" (1891) — Sherlock Holmes story by Arthur Conan Doyle, which involves a sort of confidence trick used to enable a bank robbery

The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade was the last major novel by Herman Melville, the American writer and author of Moby-Dick. ... Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. ... This article is about the original 1862 novel. ... The Thénardiers (commonly referred to as Thénardier and Madame Thénardier) are two of the primary villains in Victor Hugos novel Les Misérables and the musical inspired by it. ... Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain is commonly accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humanist,[2] humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. ... Mark Twain Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain is commonly accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. ... The Red-Headed League is one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. ... This article is about Arthur Conan Doyles fictional detective. ... Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. ... It has been suggested that Safecatch be merged into this article or section. ...

[edit] 20^th century

• Simon Templar (1928—1963), also known as "The Saint," a main character in Leslie Charteris' novels and stories who is often involved in scams and cons
• The Twelve Chairs (1928) and The Little Golden Calf (1931) – satirical novels by Ilf and Petrov; the main character, Ostap Bender, is a con man, who has carried out most of the tricks listed below, and The Little Golden Calf contains a fictional secret society of con men called Children of Lieutenant Schmidt
• The Space Merchants (1953) — sci-fi novel by Frederik Pohl and Cyril Kornbluth is replete with con games practiced by corporations
• Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man: The Early Years (1954) – Thomas Mann's unfinished novel about a German con man
• The Stainless Steel Rat (1961 – present) – series of sci-fi novels by Harry Harrison; the protagonist, James Bolivar diGriz ("Slippery Jim"), is a con man and uses abundant schemes and frauds
• Travis McGee (1964–1984), fictional character in John D. MacDonald's series of detective novels, frequently uses con games or has them tried against him
• The Golden Egg (1984) — psychological thriller novel by Tim Krabbé features a chemistry teacher who employs con for the purpose of kidnapping
• Repairman Jack (1984–present), fictional character in F. Paul Wilson's series of novels, often runs scams on other con artists.
• If Tomorrow Comes (1985) — novel by Sidney Sheldon, which has a con artist as the main character and is mostly based on trickery and deception
• Hellblazer (1988 – present) — ongoing horror comic book series; the main character, John Constantine, uses confidence scams, trickery and magick

Simon Templar is a fictional character known as The Saint in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. ... The Saint refers to the fictional character created by Leslie Charteris in one of the following contexts: Simon Templar, the character also known as The Saint (main article on this topic) The Saint (TV series), a TV series that ran from 1962 to 1969, starring Roger Moore as Simon Templar. ... Leslie Charteris (May 12, 1907, Singapore–April 15, 1993), born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. ... The Twelve Chairs The Twelve Chairs (Russian: ) (1928) is a famous satirical novel by the Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov. ... The Little Golden Calf The Little Golden Calf (Russian: ) (1931) is a famous satirical novel by Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov q. ... Ilf and Petrov Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Faynzilberg, 1897–1937) and Evgeny or Yevgeny Petrov (Yevgeniy Petrovich Kataev or Katayev, 1903–1942) were two Soviet prose authors of the 1920s and 1930s. ... Ostap Bender as portrayed by Andrei Mironov, 1976 Ostap Bender (Russian: Остап Бендер; also Ostap-Suleyman-Berta-Maria-Bender-Bei, Bender-Zadunaysky, Ostap Ibragimovich) is a misanthropic[] con man and antihero who first appeared in the novel The Twelve Chairs (January 1928 - Russian: Двенадцать стульев), written by Russian writers Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov. ... The Society in session, by Kukryniksy Children of Lieutenant Schmidt (Russian: ) is a fictional secret society of con men that pretended to be children of Lieutenant Schmidt (a Russian revolutionary hero), described in The Little Golden Calf by Ilf and Petrov: two helpers of Ostap Bender were hapless former members... The Space Merchants, by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth, 1953. ... Frederik George Pohl, Jr. ... Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 23, 1923 - March 21, 1958 -- pen-names: Cecil Corman and S.D. Gottesman) was a science fiction author and a notable member of the Futurians. ... For other persons named Thomas Mann, see Thomas Mann (disambiguation). ... The Stainless Steel Rat refers to a fictional character and the series of novels involving the character. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey, March 12, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut) is an American science fiction author who has lived in many parts of the world including Mexico, England, Denmark and Italy. ... Travis McGee is a fictional character created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. ... John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916 – December 28, 1986), writing as John D. MacDonald, was an American writer best known for his series of detective novels featuring protagonist Travis McGee. ... Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centres upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... The Golden Egg (Het Gouden Ei) is a Dutch psychological thriller novel written by Tim Krabbé, first published by Uitgeveriij Bert Bakker in 1984. ... -1... Tim Krabbé (born April 13, 1943 in Amsterdam) is a distinguished Dutch journalist and novelist. ... Repairman Jack is a character in a series of novels by F. Paul Wilson. ... Francis Paul Wilson (b. ... If Tomorrow Comes is a 1985 novel by Sidney Sheldon. ... Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer who won awards in three careers—a Broadway playwright, a Hollywood TV and movie screenwriter, and a best-selling novelist. ... Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... John Constantine (born May 10, 1953 in Liverpool, England) is the fictional protagonist of the comic series Hellblazer. ... This article refers to the magical system of Aleister Crowley and Thelema. ...

[edit] 21^st century

• The Brethren (2000) — novel by John Grisham features a con run by three incarcerated judges
• Matchstick Men (2002) — novel by Eric Garcia; the main characters are con artists
• American Gods (2001) — novel by Neil Gaiman uses a two-man con as a major plot element
• The Egyptologist (2004) — In this Arthur Phillips novel, Ralph Trilipush is a brilliant con who eventually cons himself.
• Going Postal (2004) — Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel features a convicted and condemned con artist Moist von Lipwig, who applies the principles of the con in his new job as Postmaster General
• The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006) — fantasy novel by Scott Lynch follows the adventures of a group of con artists known as the Gentlemen Bastards
• Many of the crime novels by Jim Thompson involve confidence artists

The Brethren is a law-related novel by American author John Grisham, published in 2000. ... Grisham redirects here. ... Matchstick Men: A Novel About Grifters With Issues is a novel written by Eric Garcia. ... Eric Garcia is the author of several humorous books including Matchstick Men which was made into a movie directed by Ridley Scott and starring Nicolas Cage, and the Anonymous Rex series which is being used as the basis for a new TV show on the SciFi Channel. ... American Gods is a novel by Neil Gaiman. ... Neil Richard Gaiman (IPA: ) (born November 10, 1960[2]) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... Arthur Phillips (born April 23, 1969, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American novelist active in the 21st century. ... This article is about the violent social phenomenon. ... Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948) is a British fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his Discworld series. ... Moist von Lipwig is a fictional character from Terry Pratchetts Discworld series. ... The Lies of Locke Lamora is a fantasy novel by Scott Lynch. ... Scott Lynch is an American fantasy author, best-known for his Gentleman Bastard series of novels. ... James Myers Thompson (September 27, 1906, Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory–April 7, 1977, Los Angeles, California) was an American writer of short stories, screenplays and novels, largely of the pulp fiction kind. ...

[edit] See also

• List of confidence tricks

• Advance fee fraud (also known as 'Nigerian scam' or '419 scam')
• Bogus escrow — straightforward confidence trick in which a scammer operates a bogus escrow service
• Get-rich-quick schemes — plan to acquire high rates of return for a small investment
• Pyramid scheme — non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered. Compare to multi-level marketing which uses a similar structure to market products or services.
• Quackery — questionable medical practices
• Romance scam
• Scam baiting — deliberately seeking out scammers to expose them or waste their time
• Scams in intellectual property
• Social engineering — Techniques used to manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.
• Spam - Most, if not all spam is nothing more than a scam, such as the "You WON the $1,000,000 Grand Prize", then to "claim" the (non-existent) prize, the scammer needs your personal information which is in turn used to effect all manner of crime against you, including ID Theft.
• Sting operation — confidence tricks used for the purpose of law enforcement
• White-collar crime — crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation
• White van speakers — scam sales technique in which a salesman makes a buyer believe he is getting a good price on audio merchandise

An advance fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance relatively small sums of money in the hope of realizing a much larger gain. ... The Bogus Escrow scam is a straightforward confidence trick in which a scammer operates a bogus escrow service. ... This article is about the legal arrangement. ... This page may meet Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... The unsustainable geometric progression of a classic pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered. ... Multi-level marketing (MLM), also known as Network Marketing is a business distribution model that allows a parent multi-level marketing company to market their products directly to consumers by means of relationship referral and direct selling. ... Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757 Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe unscientific medical practices. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Scam baiters sometimes trick scammers into getting humiliating tattoos such as this. ... Intellectual property is a very complex area and covers a vast range of diverse subjects. ... This article is about the manipulation of individuals. ... This article is about electronic spam. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime or incorporated governance has been defined by Edwin Sutherland ...as a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation. ... White van speakers is a scam sales technique in which a salesman makes a buyer believe he is getting a good price on audio merchandise. ...

[edit] Further reading

• Blundell, Nigel [1982] (1984). The World's Greatest Crooks and Conmen and other mischievous malefactors. London: Octopus Books. ISBN 0-7064-2144-2. 
• Ford, Charles V. [1999] (1999). Lies! Lies!! Lies!!!: The Psychology of Deceit. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.. 
• Maurer, David W. (1940). The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man and the Confidence Game. New York: The Bobbs Merrill company. ISBN 0-385-49538-2. 
• Maurer, David W. (1974). The American Confidence Man. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, Publisher. ISBN 0-398-02974-1. 

• Marek M. Kaminski (2004) Games Prisoners Play. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7

• Ball, J. Bowyer; Whaley, Barton (1982). Cheating and Deception. New Brunswick (USA), London (UK): Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0-88738-868-X. 

• Sutherland, Edwin Hardin (1937). The Professional Thief. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-78051-1. 

The Princeton University Press is a publishing house, a division of Princeton University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

[edit] References