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For scams conducted via written communication, baiters may answer scam emails using throwaway email accounts, pretending to be receptive to scammers' offers. [4]Popular methods of accomplishing the first objective are to ask scammers to fill out lengthy questionnaires; [5] to bait scammers into taking long trips; to encourage the use of poorly made props or inappropriate English-language ...
The shill then feigns a call with a friend who they claim is a coin collector, but after the call their tone changes from bemusement at the apparent gall of the con artist to a more serious one; when the con artist returns, the shill immediately asks if they can give the con artist some of the money now and return later with the full amount.
The shell game dates back at least to Ancient Greece. [6] William Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". 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.
Scam letter posted within South Africa. An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is a common confidence trick.The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraudster claims will be used to obtain the large sum.
Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, the merchant "baits" the customer by advertising a product or service at a low price; then when the customer goes to purchase the item, they discover that it is unavailable, and the merchant pressures them instead to purchase a similar but more expensive product ("switching").
The Fraudsters – How Con Artists Steal Your Money. ISBN 978-1-903582-82-4 by Eamon Dillon, published September 2008 by Merlin Publishing; Zhang, Yingyu. The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection. Columbia University Press, 2017. ISBN 978-0-231-17863-1
The pigeon drop or Spanish handkerchief or Chilean handkerchief is a confidence trick in which a mark, or "pigeon", is persuaded to give up a sum of money in order to secure the rights to a larger sum of money, or more valuable object. [2] [3] [4] [page needed] One of the con artists will typically claim to have found the money or valuable on ...
Gregor MacGregor (1786–1845): Scottish con man who tried to attract investment and settlers for the non-existent country of "Poyais". [2]Jeanne of Valois-Saint-Rémy (1756–1791): Chief conspirator in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, which further tarnished the French royal family's already-poor reputation and, along with other causes, eventually led to the French Revolution.