The victim of a confidence game or magic trick is often called the mark, or the vic. This is an underground slang term that evolved amongst swindlers because the intended victim was said to be "marked" for the sting. It could also be a reference to confidence man Ben Marks of Council Bluffs, Iowa whom David Maurer credited as the originator of the "Big Store". The victims were, in actuality, Marks' although the reference would have meant nothing to them. A confidence trick, confidence game, or con for short, (also known as a scam) is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ... Magician redirects here. ... Satellite photo showing Council Bluffs and Omaha, Nebraska Council Bluffs is the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States on the east bank of the Missouri River. ...

In some instances the victim would literally be marked; such was a practice among traveling crooked carnival game mobs who were known to hit towns, set up an amusement park and leave after a few days. When one of the operators was done working a victim he would give him a friendly tap on the shoulder and wish him better luck next time. The real purpose of the gesture was to leave a dusty chalk mark, or a sticker, that operators of other games would recognize to mean that this mark has particularly good potential. A carnival game is a game of chance typically seen at a carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement park, or on a Midway. ...

In modern usage, inner city slang and rap songs sometimes use the term "mark" to disparage someone who is foolish, a social reject or a loser. Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ...

Also, the term is used to refer to a pro wrestling fan who believes that what he sees is "real." A mark is a professional wrestling fan who believes that everything associated with pro wrestling is real, rather than recognizing the existence of kayfabe (that is, it is a work). ...

As confidence tricks have a long history there are many other words for the victim. In early modern England the term used was coney, the victim of coney-catching (i.e. a "rabbit" in a "rabbit hunt"). Coney This page is a disambiguation for the word coney. ...

Hitmen also refer to their intended victims as marks. Hitmen is a free online-text based game. ...