How does someone fall for a scam?
At the end of this article I'm going to teach you how to spot a potential “mark” (victim of a scam). This is a surefire method with guaranteed 100% accuracy. Before that, it’s important to understand how and why people are fooled.
Does being gullible make someone a mark? Is greed the reason why most people fall for a scam? Most of us might think so but I would like to encourage a more charitable and, in my opinion, more accurate perception of con victims.
Let's look at two very different con games: three card monte and the 419 scam.
Three card monte is designed to look like a street game, where money is wagered on the position of a playing card, a marked disk or some other object. The idea is to watch the hustler mix the cards and guess where the winner is.
Sounds simple.
It's not.
At a later date, I'll write more on the actual mechanics of the game but, for now, let's step back and watch what happens. Some people are playing the game. A tourist walks up to see what's going on. Pretty soon he's getting involved and before you know it there's money in his hand. He tries to bet but he can't get his money down in time.
Then we see him go for more money. He makes a big bet. In seconds, the game is over and the hustler has gone, along with the victim's cash.
From this perspective, it's easy to assume that he was gullible. In fact I found the following definition online: GULLIBLE - easily tricked because of being too trusting; "gullible tourists taken in by the shell game”
How about the 419 scam? Someone receives an email or a letter regarding a proposition from a wealthy businessman in Nigeria. They need someone to receive a large amount of cash so that the businessman may legally move his fortune out of Lagos, without incurring a huge emigration tax. In return, the helpful recipient will be paid 20% of the amount transferred and be entitled to any interest accrued while the money is in their account.
Sound feasible? You probably already know this is a scam - but what if you didn't? What would drive you to pursue such a proposition?
Many people assume it is greed. The amounts promised by the Nigerian businessman are huge. The mark's percentage would be substantial and extremely attractive. Surely, then, greed is the driving force behind this scam?
Let's look at both scams again, this time from the perspective of the victim.
You're walking down the street when you see a crowd gathered. You walk up and see a game being played. Perhaps you've seen it before - in movies or on TV. Maybe you know it's a con game - something to do with sleight of hand. It's interesting to see it happening for real so you stay and watch.
As you watch, you realise that you are actually pretty good at working out where the winning card is - let's say it's the queen of hearts. The guy shows the cards, mixes them and you nail it every time. Even when other people are losing, you're not being fooled and you always know exactly where the queen is.
It's got to be worth a ten or a twenty. Even if you lose, it's not a fortune - besides, you haven't been wrong yet!
You try and bet ten bucks - you put your money down but someone else wants to bet more money than you. Your bet is refused and the other guy loses with a different card - it turns out you would have won if only you'd bet more money.
Your hand goes back in your pocket. You're pissed about losing to the idiot with more money on the table. You're watching real close and you're always right. In your pocket, your hand pulls all the cash from your money clip.
That guy loses again - and now he's getting upset. He tosses the losing card on the floor and, as the hustler picks it up, the loser reaches over and pops a bend in the queen of hearts. It's now clearly marked for all to see.
This is an intriguing situation - the loser takes out more money as the hustler mixes the cards briefly - you follow the queen easily and it's still bent at the corner. Before you know it you grab your chance and bet everything you have on the marked queen.
The bet is taken and you're already spending the cash in your head when the card you bet on turns out NOT to be the queen!
Someone says something about "police" and everyone scatters. The cards and their owner disappear into the crowd and suddenly you're standing alone trying to figure out what just happened.
This con game isn't about being a gullible person - it's about becoming gullible for a second due to the mechanics of the scam.
Even if you know a little about the three card trick, it's easy to believe that you are smart enough to work it out.
After watching for a few minutes, you soon become convinced that you are smarter than the other players and are tempted to prove this by betting a little. The hustlers (the guy mixing the card and up to a dozen of the other "players") then make sure you can only bet when you have all your money on the table. They’re teasing you - not accepting your bet when another "player" overbets or showing other "players" winning on the cards you've been following.
If you are only going to bet a little, they'll probably switch a card, take your cash and squeeze you out. If you don't bet at all, you'll soon find the crowd pushing you back.
If you look ripe, they'll continue to draw you in with their little charade. The final coup-de-grace is the bent corner. With the card marked, it seems impossible to lose . The secret is a devilish piece of sleight of hand that both switches the queen AND moves the mark to another card. Bent card? A little lipstick? Either way, there's a trick to it but that's not what's important.
Every time I've watched this particular ploy go down, as an onlooker and as the hustler, there's a look that comes over the mark. Imagine a deer in the headlights, where the deer has its hoof in a jar of cookies. The mark knows something he shouldn't - he has an unfair advantage and he wants to see how it plays out.
But remember: he's already itching to play and prove he's got this game beat. When the cards are mixed, the mark has no problem following the queen and, because it is also marked (for his benefit) he has no doubt at that instant where the queen is. He is also worried about being over-bet or pushed out by another "player".
Put all this together and the mark takes the bait and his money is gone in a flash.
Three Card Monte is a charade that draws you in and cons you into thinking you know better than the people around you. This isn't a difficult con to pull off since most people think that way already.
This so-called "game" then manipulates the mark towards the key moment where they’re convinced it’s a sure thing.
Looking back, even the victim has no idea how he got duped. “It all happened so fast.”
With the 419 scam, the scammers usually take their time.
Again, let's look at it from a victim's point of view:
It's eight months since you lost your job. Your savings won't last more than a year. Things are getting desperate and so are you. Feeding and clothing the kids is eating into your budget. Little Billy is already growing out of his school uniform and Sally needs new shoes. Every day, you receive letters from the bank and credit card companies demanding more money and charging for your overdraft. Bills are mounting up along with the stress and you've even started praying for a solution.
Then, one night, at your lowest point, you get the email and it seems your prayers might be answered.
You're not some estate agent looking to increase your bulging bank balance. You're in a dire situation and this proposal, from your perspective, might appear to be the answer to your prayers.
This might seem like an extreme example but in my experience, it is much more likely than someone pursuing a phantom Nigerian purely out of greed. There are always reasons for someone being lured into the 419 web. Greed is certainly a factor - the large sums of money that attract (and distract) the marks will certainly appeal to people's greed but who amongst us doesn't have a little avarice about them?
Another common reason for people getting involved in a 419 scheme is naivety. Being aware of this scam is its own deterrent but many people have never heard of the "419" or its ancestor "The Spanish Prisoner" scam. Many people also cannot conceive that other people would go to such lengths to perpetrate a con. It's an odd fact that many scams seem easier to believe simply because they are so far-fetched. It's difficult to understand unless you're in the mark's shoes but, as someone who has pulled hundreds of con games, there's a twisted logic that is easier for people to grasp than the seemingly more obvious fact that it 's actually a scam! More on this in a later post...
Despite what most people think, victims of scams are not stupid. Misguided, maybe. Misled, certainly.
I know many genuine hustlers, cheats and con artists. They share a common opinion about their marks - it’s their own fault for getting involved.
Needless to say, I don’t agree with that statement at all but it reveals a great deal about how scammers insulate themselves from the results of their own actions. I’ll write more on this later.
For now, the lesson to learn is that “getting involved” can be as simple as replying to that 419 email or walking up to a crowd to see what’s going on.
Once you’re “involved” you are targeted by extremely powerful and convincing strategies, designed (and proven) to manipulate you into giving up your money.
The minute you engage with a hustler, he or she is in the driving seat. They have been in this situation thousands of times. They’ve seen every outcome and know exactly what buttons to press to get the desired result. No matter how smart you think you are, the hustlers have the upper hand. They are better at conning people than you are at not being conned!
These are two common but very different scams and the chances are that, while I hope you now have a better understanding of why people fall them, you’re still thinking: “that could never happen to me”.
Are you sure? Just by reading this article, or watching The Real Hustle, you’ve armed yourself with the most powerful weapon against cons and scams - knowledge - but be careful not to infect yourself with the con artist's greatest ally: arrogance.
When people read in the news that someone fell for a seemingly “obvious” scam, try to think about how clever and convincing the con artist must have been to work that scam, rather than dismiss the victim as merely stupid. One day it might be you.
If you genuinely think you can’t be conned, think again. Just because you know how to recognise common scams, doesn’t mean you’ll wake up to a more sophisticated con game.
The great con artists tailor their schemes to fit their victims perfectly. If they know enough about you, con artists will figure out how best to bait their hooks.
After pulling over 400 scams and spending a lifetime studying the art of the con, I have no doubt that I could be taken in by the right scam. Despite all my knowledge and understanding I know that we’re all a sucker for something.
Which brings me back to my sure-fire method for spotting a potential mark: stand in front of a mirror.
