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Revision as of 12:50, 1 October 2002 by Heron (talk | contribs) (con man; cults)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)A confidence trick, or con for short, is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. The confidence trickster, con man or con artist often works with an accomplice called the shill, who tries to encourage the mark by pretending to believe the trickster.
Well-known confidence tricks:
- Three Card Monty, The Three-Card Trick, Follow The Lady or Find the Lady. The trickster shows three playing cards to the audience, one of which is a queen (the lady), then places the cards face-down, shuffles them around and invites the audience to bet on which one is the queen. At first the audience are sceptical, so the shill places a bet and the trickster allows him to win. This is sometimes enough to entice the audience to place bets, but the trickster uses sleight of hand to ensure that they always lose.
- Religious cults. Some religious cults have been described by their critics as confidence tricks. It is alleged that their aim is to obtain money from their followers by deception.
Famous con artists:
- Victor Lustig, sold the Eiffel Tower
Confidence tricks in fiction:
- The movies The Sting and The Grifters
- David Mamet's films House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner
References:
- David W. Maurer, The Big Con, ISBN 0385495382