Posted on 03/14/2021 1:31:06 PM PDT by Libloather
In 1849, police in New York City arrested a man named William Thompson. Charismatic and "a man of genteel appearance," according to a New York Herald report from the time, Thompson approached strangers, engaged them in conversation, and won their confidence, which he then used to convince them to part with their money or valuables. Prior to his arrest, authorities dubbed the prowling swindler the "Confidence Man," the first time the phrase was ever used to describe what would soon be shortened to "con man" or "con artist."
An old proverb cautions that "a fool and his money are soon parted," and con artists justify carrying out that parting with one of Murphy's Laws: "It is morally wrong to allow suckers to keep their money."
Some of history's most brazen, most brilliant, and most lucrative swindles have occurred in the modern era; sometimes the caper was carried out with computers, sometimes with blank checks, and even once with a three-wheeled car. Some scam artists have received unsurvivable prison sentences, others have been glorified on the big screen, and others have been sprung from prison in exchange for helping law enforcement prevent scams and even to run scams of their own.
Some frauds were carried out by charismatic and confidence-inducing individuals, while others were the work of massive corporations that were supposed to be operating under the watchful eye of government regulators. Either way, their fortunes were built on the dashed hopes, ruined dreams, and empty pockets of their victims.
(Excerpt) Read more at stacker.com ...
I looked like a nun.
You forgot the biggest one, save possibly the last election...
[The Federal Reserve Act was passed by the 63rd United States Congress and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on December 23, 1913.]
Agreed
So many crooked scams in 4 years and we are told to forget them.
Democrats just stole 2 TRILLION dollars and we are told about other scammers.
Horse Manure, ... Number One is missing, ... That being: Socialism Works
Rigged presidential debates are a bigger scandal that some damn triva show.
Hole in the ozone layer.
http://americanskynews.com/articles-a.htm
Global Scam, aka “Global Warming” - “Climate Change.”
I was also thinking Y2K.
Thanks for posting this.
The naivetes needs to be knocked out of a lot of people.
I have had up close up and personal contact with 2 diffefent scammers, one from USA one from Canada. I also had lesser experience with with 2 more .
They all had a common characteristic, very nice people On the surface nothing offensive about them.
Got a little insight into their motivations when one was asked why he had to always be cheating and lying when he could make himself a millionaire legally in his business.
His answer was “There might be something wrong with me , but I would rather make a dishonest dime , than make a honest dollar.” And he meant it and he lived it. -Tom
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