The Art of the Con (11 page)

The lie needs to be carefully constructed, difficult to disprove, and hidden within folds of fact and truth. Blatant lies may work when the con is short and the mark is under constant control, but when the line is longer and the mark has time to think about things, the fraud needs to be carefully camouflaged.

I needed to give Uncle Barry a plausible reason for transferring large amounts of money to a third party, which is a key element of the well-known Nigerian prince or 419 scam. I already had the location and my phony office, but how could I convince this businessman that a stranger would send him a large sum of money and let him keep 40 percent? The answer turned out to be buried in US tax law. Any transaction of ten thousand dollars or more is automatically referred to the government, and even if it's a gift, taxes may be taken from it. This does not apply to international monetary gifts, for which there is no tax liability. This explained how my clients could accept the funds but not why John would send them with such an enormous loss.

So I made up a story based loosely on fact. Foreign investors sometimes find it difficult to move money out of certain countries. To protect John (and my bullshit story) I couldn't say what the countries were, only that the penalties for sending money out were crippling unless they were being sent to a separate entity. An essential part of the deal was that John had to be able to illustrate that he was paying for the privilege elsewhere and had no direct connection to the receiver. In short, losing 40 percent in the United States would save John from losing 70 percent abroad. I also told Barry that this only works within certain limits, so that John has to undertake dozens of transactions to release all of his money.

I had all the trappings of a genuine financial expert, someone who knows what he's doing and has been doing so successfully for a long time. The setting and the situation were a perfect marriage for my story. If you're an accountant, a stockbroker, or a banker, your tongue might be clicking loudly as you read this or perhaps you're shaking your head so violently that you might cause yourself an injury. This scam isn't for you, obviously, but I'd bet a cup of coffee and a fresh doughnut that you could easily convince a layman to buy it.

It's remarkably easy to tell a lie when it is accompanied by something real that appears to support that lie. Con artists have a talent for spotting facts that can be distorted in their favor. The believability of a good scam depends on roping the right mark and telling him something he is either inclined to believe or can be convinced of using proven techniques that have a powerful influence over anyone under the right circumstances.

The process goes something like this:

Borrowing the truth is easy, but it has to be complemented by a falsehood to be effective. The truth can be used to support a scam or distorted until it leads the mark to the wrong conclusion. Consider all of the fad diets that use science to support their unsubstantiated claims. Whenever there's a news story about a theory relating to weight loss, it's only a matter of time before it is being sold as fact for three easy payments of $39.99. Science is an easy tool for anyone who wishes to support a questionable theory or back up an outright lie for the public; it's almost certain that the public or the media will not dedicate long hours to verify anything. If I wanted to prove any claim, I could simply pull random equations from the Internet and use a search engine to compile seemingly related data that might feasibly support whatever I'm trying to sell. I can guarantee that the simple quantity of apparent “facts” would be enough to convince many people that it could be true.

As an expert in a couple of fields, I am used to seeing these subjects misrepresented in the media. Since I understand these topics enough to see through gaping holes, fallacies, or agenda-driven biases, I'm perfectly placed to comment on the accuracy of what's being written. The problem is, as any expert will tell you, no one wants to hear the boring truth when the lie is fascinating. I've grown to be suspicious of almost anything that I read, and if something interests me, I'll do a little research to see if the story holds up. Along the way I am constantly stumbling upon perfect scenarios for a con game. Diet pills claim to help you burn fat “as part of a balanced diet” but one could argue that it's more likely to be the improved diet that helps people lose weight than the powdered snake-oil being peddled.

Healthier regime (X) plus unproven supplement (Y) equals guaranteed results (Z).

Recently I read some fascinating research about how sugars and fats affect the body and that the combination of these can be as addicting as cocaine. Immediately I conjured the idea of a pill that would counteract this addiction and allow people to eat without succumbing to these urges. Naturally, directions for use would stipulate that my worthless placebos be used “as part of a balanced diet.” Diet scams perfectly illustrate how people's desires outweigh their common sense, since if a genuine, safe, and scientifically proven method of easy weight loss was discovered tomorrow, it would be bigger than Viagra.

Hiding in Plain Sight

A con artist can introduce information from any source that the mark would accept as believable; that information can either misrepresent the truth, be manipulated to support the scam, or entirely manufactured. There are several ways to feed the victim what he needs to know or control exposure to any contradictory information. A con artist can use facts that are obvious, easily available, or he may have to point them out himself. However, the hustler can also be more subtle—planting the information in a way that the mark comes to believe he's learned something on his own. In this case, the mark may believe he has exclusive knowledge that he can use, perhaps as leverage. In some cases, con artists would even orchestrate conversations within earshot of their victim, feeding them proof or additional information to give the mark greater confidence.

This strategy has been used by companies who pay actors to loudly discuss their hotel, restaurant or other services on a busy train. One possibly apocryphal story concerns a creative screen-writer who spent days traveling up and down elevators and eating in restaurants filled with Hollywood types, discussing an incredible new script that's “doing the rounds.” By the following week, his agent was overwhelmed by requests to read it.

A powerful strategy is for the con artist to only tell the mark what's true (X) and have him receive the false information (Y) from another source. If the source that's feeding the lie appears to be completely separate, then the mark's inclination is to believe the story. Once upon a time, a con artist might have planted a story in the newspaper or even printed duplicates with information added purely for their mark; today it's extremely easy to design a believable website filled with anything a hustler needs to convince a mark. Links can point to genuine sources or to other bogus sites to verify any lie or exaggerated truth. While this could be tailored for any target, there are thousands of web-sites designed purely to attract victims via search engines, with all manner of claims to extend life expectancy, help people lose weight, or predict the future. Many of these sites remain within the law by posting disclaimers that are either cleverly hidden, camouflaged, or minimized. Many sites appear to be based in the home country of its target audience but are actually hosted in countries with no laws to prevent their activity.

It's not just
what
the mark is told but
how
he is told it. Consider a counterfeit hundred-dollar bill, made of perfect paper and printed to the highest standards. It looks real and it feels exactly like other bills, but when compared with genuine c-notes, the fake can easily be spotted. But if the con artist controls how, when, and why the mark handles the counterfeit, then it can pass for the real thing. Perhaps I'd start by handing over the “funny-money,” rushing them to put it in their wallet before handing over a real bill, thus avoiding a direct comparison. Similarly, I could start with twenty real hundreds and wait until they're in the mark's wallet before introducing the fakes. I could slip the counterfeit into the middle of a pile, then distract or force the mark to count quickly. I could even let the mark test a real bill, then switch it as they reach for their wallet (as per the “ticket scam”). I could be even more creative and plant a fake hundred behind the bar so the mark can compare the fake I give him to another one, apparently from the cash register.

A con man treats information the same way as he would a fake (or real) hundred-dollar bill, manipulating what you discover, and how and when you discover it. If the mark is particularly challenging, then a con artist might focus on what he can prove for a while; for a more gullible victim, the lie would be given greater prominence. In the case of my re-invented Spanish Prisoner scam for Uncle Barry, I kept him focused on what he could see and supported my entire story with a genuine US tax law and vague facts about moving money overseas. This was enough veracity for the average mark. An accountant would certainly need more proof, while a criminal might only need to smell the money to get involved. The line is a game played between hustlers and their intended victim with only two possible outcomes: the con men win or both parties lose.
*

Inside the Bubble

A problem with longer cons is that the mark cannot be under constant supervision. He could stumble upon the truth or be talked out of the deal by a third party. Isolating the mark from influences outside of the hustlers' control is often essential. The easiest way to accomplish this is by building secrecy into the story. Victor Lustig used the threat of political scandal to keep his marks from talking to others and notorious con artist Yellow Kid Weil concocted many scenarios that were supposedly being kept secret from the public for one reason or another. Success of the con is often dependent on not sharing information that is completely false. If the mark does as instructed, he never has the opportunity to properly verify information. This tactic can also explain away conflicting facts, which is why “the secrets they don't want you to know” is a favorite phrase among questionable pitchmen.

Clearly, if the mark does as he's told, he does not seek advice outside the “con bubble” that the hustlers have created. It also helps to explain why certain facts cannot be verified: after all, they are secret knowledge that the con artist is sharing with the mark for their mutual benefit. For example, inside information that might influence someone to buy or sell shares could be easy to invent and difficult to verify.

Another approach is to anticipate conflicting information and address it
before
the mark can stumble upon it himself. This prepares the victim to dismiss anything that disproves the story. Additionally, a mark with a strong desire for the bait is easier to fool; if he really wants the prize, then the mark is already biased toward positive proof. A con man who preempts his doubts by preparing him to ignore contradictory information is likely to succeed.

All of these ploys serve another purpose: to isolate the mark. Inside the con artist's bubble, there is hope and opportunity and confidence; outside the bubble there is doubt and fear. Many con games succeed by making the bubble preferable to harsh realities and cold truths. Often, when a scam is over and the mark has been taken, the loss of that comfortable, hope-filled bubble hurts the mark as much as any betrayal of trust or loss of money. This is why it can be infuriatingly difficult to talk someone out of a scam once they are emotionally committed to it. In the right circumstances, if the con artists have done their job well, the bubble can only be burst from the inside and no amount of outside influence can help. How hustlers control both the elements of their story and how the mark perceives these elements are vitally important to the success of the line. In some cases, the entire scam depends on keeping the mark on that line, in order to slowly bleed them dry.

Believe

Of all the cons I've pulled on
The Real Hustle
, those that exposed phony psychics were, for me, the most difficult and personally damaging. We always took great care of our subjects on the show, carefully maneuvering them to the right locations under the best circumstances, blissfully unaware that they were about to be secretly filmed and scammed. After each con, a producer would approach the mark and gently explain that everything was going to be okay, that their friends or family were nearby and they hadn't really lost anything. For most of the scams, this was an easy process because sheer relief was a powerful factor, but when I pretended to have psychic powers, and hopes and dreams and fears and wonder were being manipulated, then talking someone down required much more care. In the end, the mark was always relieved and keen to take part, but emotions were usually high and I tried to stay out of the way until the mark calmed down. Personally, I was a complete mess afterward.

During these scams I would employ powerful techniques such as cold reading, using props to help prove my abilities. For one of our most effective cons, we injected red food dye into an egg and told the mark I could read her future by breaking eggs onto a plate. One egg was for health, another for relationships, and the third egg was for financial matters. I asked the mark which egg she wanted me to read first and she chose health. I cracked the egg and poured out the white and the yolk, commenting on how the yolk landed on the plate, its color and shape, and the thickness of the egg white. I analyzed the cracks created when breaking the egg and delivered a cold reading as if guided by these observations.

Cold reading is the art of telling people seemingly specific and accurate information that appears to relate to them personally. These readings are actually a cleverly constructed blend of general statements and universal truths tailored to the mark and accompanied by secretly obtained facts, easily deduced information, or guesses based on the experience of the cold reader. This can be a consciously learned skill that develops over time or a natural talent for so-called “shut-eyes” who genuinely believe in their own powers.