The Art of the Con

by R. Paul Wilson

  On television shows, my objective is to convince someone to commit and to hand over their own money or property, but time is limited: We rarely attempt to steal more than someone has immediate access to, or could be convinced to bring along.

  I’ve often heard that this kind of con game is old-school and isn’t played like this any more, but in Kansas in 2009, this exact con was being pulled all over town by two female hustlers, taking thousands of dollars from each of their victims.

  Just the Ticket

  Let’s consider a fairly common confidence trick, but put ourselves into the role of a con artist and apply a few simple strategies to ensure success. For this scenario, we’ll employ elements from the Pigeon Drop: a natural switch, a soft hook, and, if that doesn’t work, we’ll try a straight hook.

  In summer 2013, I was in Louisville, Kentucky, for a festival that happened on the same weekend as a very large concert that attracted hordes of teenage girls. Outside the venue were hundreds of girls and their parents hoping to pick up tickets for a decent price. As I walked past the concert hall, I saw dozens of potential marks and began to theorize about how a hustler might prey on their situation. How would you do it? Setting aside your principles for just a moment, how would you try to fleece someone if you knew exactly what they wanted and were willing to pay for it?

  Selling fake tickets narrows the potential victims to those willing to pay to see a particular event or show. Many bogus websites have appeared over the years to take advantage of concerts and sporting events. These provide a fake front for a genuine product and allow scammers to take advantage of the disparity between the limited number of tickets and the large demand from excited teenagers. A bogus website simply needs to look the part and function as expected to take your money. This usually happens long before the date of the show so that the fraudsters can reboot their business under another disguise. The protection offered by many credit card companies means you might not lose your money, but many ticket sellers now ask for payment by other means to minimize their own risk. Be extremely cautious, for example, when anyone asks you to make payment via a wire-transfer service for any type of transaction.

  This type of ticket fraud isn’t much of a scam. It simply takes advantage of something that’s in demand and a believable delay in delivering the product. A more traditional con game would be to sell actual tickets on the day of the event. We know that there will be plenty of people looking to buy tickets and that those tickets sell for very high prices from scalpers. Fakes can be extremely convincing, but as technology advances, it becomes more and more difficult to get past the turnstiles unless you’re holding the real deal. As scammers, getting inside the venue is not our problem; but we do need a convincing product or we’ll never get the money.

  First, we need some real tickets. These can be stolen, purchased legitimately, or bought from a friendly scalper. We could even con someone out of the genuine article. Scammers have intercepted people just after buying their tickets and pretended to work for the box office. They explain that they’ve sold them the wrong seats but offer much better seats in return. The scammer keeps the tickets and walks them back to the front of the line, then leaves to enter the office through a side door. They never return.

  Another strategy is to wait outside the venue for a group of fans—anything up to a dozen—and pretend to be part of the crew looking for suitable people to come backstage. Under some pretext, the hustler would convince the group that they can watch the whole show from the VIP area and exchange their real tickets for convincing but entirely fake “All-Access” passes. The real tickets would then be sold to other unsuspecting fans who would later find themselves sitting in stolen seats.

  Let’s say we have obtained a pair of real tickets long enough in advance to make some half-decent copies. These fakes might not fool anyone on their own, but the mark won’t see them until it’s too late. In addition, we would obtain some envelopes and print the logo of a well-known ticket agent on all of them. We put the genuine tickets in one envelope and the copies in another. Now all we need is someone who really needs to see the show.

  Consider for a moment how you would act in this situation, as the buyer. What are your questions? How do you make sure they’re real or not stolen? Unless you are intimately familiar with the tickets being sold (which is rare), it’s very difficult to identify a fake. A few years ago I watched an interview with an anti-fraud detective who placed a fake ticket beside a real one. On camera, he commented that “it’s hard to believe that someone could fall for this” but this attitude fails to consider that the victims may never have seen a real ticket, let alone had one to compare. It’s also possible that the tickets they purchased were absolutely real when they examined them, as you will see.

  A rank hustler will simply farm out fake tickets to anyone who takes them at face value. In many cases, this is a charmless, by-the-numbers fraud that depends on the victim not to ask too many questions. A more sophisticated scammer would take fewer chances, make more money, and be a lot more convincing. In order to do this, he needs to understand how the victim will think during the transaction.

  Walk-ups can be difficult. Approaching anyone cold with a proposition activates people’s defenses and puts them on guard. In this scenario, this is less of a problem since walking around outside the venue shouting “Tickets!” will attract people desperate to see the show. Of course this also places the seller in the easiest spot for police or a wised-up sucker to find them but in the days or hours leading up to a big event, there are many opportunities to approach and sell our bogus tickets.

  For this scam, we will make the mark come to us; we will quickly answer any suspicions, gain her trust, and apply the simplest but most common strategy to secure the victim’s money. All we’ll need is a cell phone.

  In Louisville, the city was lousy with teenage girls excited to see their favorite band. By lunchtime the restaurants were full of obvious targets, most of whom probably already had a ticket but might be accompanied by someone who did not or would know plenty of people who might want one. These are perfect marks for this scam because they have access to a real ticket, and since we have gone to the trouble of securing the real thing, we should play this to maximum advantage. We actually want the suckers to compare our tickets to their own.

  I go for a smart, casual look with jeans, shirt, and a suit jacket to project the right image. I’m in my early forties so I’m perfect to act as the father of a fan who can’t make the show. This should be something that will resonate with the victim, perhaps even gain her sympathy without raising questions. There’s nothing a con artist won’t say to get your money, but it’s important not to play our hand too strong or we’ll attract suspicion.

  Walking from one place to another, it’s easy to find groups of people who might be interested, and a little time spent observing and listening can pay dividends. Once we’ve identified our target, it’s time to make a phone call. My end of the conversation might go like this:

  Yes, yes. I picked up the tickets. I don’t know what to do. I asked some people outside but they all have tickets. I’ll probably have to wait until tonight and hope there’s someone then. What? I have no idea, I’ve never tried to sell tickets before! I’ll wait and see but if the office calls, I have to go. Maybe she can get her money back. Okay, I’ll call.

  This conversation with my imaginary wife regarding tickets for my imaginary daughter is all for the benefit of anyone in earshot, and it will either attract their attention or soften my approach if I still need to do the legwork.

  Next, I order a soft drink and wait to see if I have anyone’s attention. In most cases I would have singled out a suitable target and would know very quickly if she were interested. They would either come up to me or might be discussing what they heard. Sometimes all I need to observe is that they stop to listen to my call, but once I hang up, I need to wait and see what happens.

  Softening the approach can be an important step, especially with t
hose who tend to especially dislike cold calls and unexpected interruptions. There’s a certain band of society that resists outside human interaction generally. How many of us don’t even know the names of our closest neighbors? For this type of person, making a connection requires an understanding of what will engage the mark.

  Giving them a little information in advance about who and what you are can be used against you. The most important objective, from the scammers’ point of view, is to ensure they identify with you somehow and believe that you don’t want anything from them. That’s especially important in a simple scam like this. We could easily just walk from bar to bar and keep asking groups of people if they want to buy tickets, and this is how many hustlers operate. The problem is that they attract attention and they activate suspicion. With a little grift-sense we can narrow our target search, encourage trust, and perhaps even sell our fakes to people who already have tickets.

  The best-case scenario after our phone call is that someone who needs a ticket walks up and engages us directly. This is perfect for our needs as it puts the mark in the position of establishing herself first and clearly indicates that she has been hooked by the bait. If this doesn’t happen, we still have a powerful option available to us, which is to ask her advice. This ploy doesn’t need us to establish our story with the phone call, but it becomes more powerful when the intended victim thinks she already knows something about my situation.

  Let’s take the difficult path. No one approaches me but I sense genuine interest in my predicament from the next table: a middle-aged woman of above average means with her daughter and two of her friends. I have no doubt they all have tickets to the show, but we can still secure a sale. Here’s how I would proceed:

  I stand up while checking my phone and adopt an image of impatience. In my mind, I have been summoned to the office for some sort of work emergency and I won’t be able to wait around to sell my daughter’s ticket. I’m not going to say any of this unless I need to, but human beings are able to sense body language; putting myself in this frame of mind can be a powerful psychological ally. I have prepared my story but I avoid scripting anything too clearly as this can sound false and memorized. Instead I try to clearly understand the scenario and stick to that story.

  Here’s how things might pan out when I walk up to the mark:

  ME: Excuse me.

  MARK: Yes?

  ME: Sorry to bother you but do you happen to be going to the concert tonight?

  MARK: Yes, we are.

  ME: You wouldn’t happen to know anywhere that would buy my daughter’s tickets? A record shop or . . . I don’t know.

  This is a soft hook. In one, clear sentence, I’ve told them I have tickets for sale and suggested an explanation for where they’ve come from, but I’ve done it without making a direct offer. Instead, I’ve asked for advice and I’m watching to see if anyone appears interested.

  MARK: She can’t go?

  ME: Excuse me?

  I heard her the first time but making people repeat something gives me a better read on their level of interest.

  MARK: Your daughter can’t go?

  ME: She broke her collarbone. Hockey. The ticket company wouldn’t refund them so I had to pick them up for her.

  Here I play for sympathy but not too strong. That’s a personal choice, but professional scammers have no shame in proclaiming their imaginary children, grannies, or partners as dead if it might lead to a profit.

  MARK: How much were they?

  More like a nibble than a bite but it’s enough. I know they already have tickets so this question is more about my veracity. They’re definitely interested.

  ME: Let me check. Where’s the price?

  I take out the envelope and look at the genuine tickets. I show them to someone so they can spot the price for me, but more important, I’ve put the tickets into their hands, which makes it much harder for them to refuse if they really want them. If I’m lucky, someone at the table needs a pair of tickets, but the bait is already on the table and there’s more than one way to hook our fish.

  Let’s imagine they don’t jump at the chance right away. The soft hook is almost played out.

  MARK: There will be people outside the concert, later. I’m sure you can sell them there.

  ME: No, I need to get to work. You don’t know anyone who wants to go?

  If they did, I’d suggest calling them to see if they wanted my tickets, but it’s important not to hang around too long. I have one last chance to get the money.

  ME: Outside the concert, do they sell these for the normal price or charge more?

  MARK: They charge a lot more. Last year they were charging three hundred dollars!

  Here comes the straight hook:

  ME: You guys are going to the show. Do you want to buy these and sell them tonight? You can make a lot of money—or sell them to someone who deserves to see it without getting ripped off.

  It’s now a direct take it or leave it proposition. I’ve worded it so it speaks to both their desire to make a profit and to their conscience. They could make a lot of money or they could let someone have them for a fair price and avoid being scalped. It’s important not to let this moment become awkward. Some potential marks may automatically say no while others are still considering the idea as I’m putting the tickets away and thanking them for their time. As I go to my pocket, I switch the envelope with the real tickets for one containing fakes. This is a simple switch that anyone can physically pull off but takes real skill to perform naturally, without attracting suspicion. I’ve seen actors and magicians fall to pieces and suffer the shakes in these situations; deception, even when it seems easy, is extremely difficult in the heat of the moment. With enough experience and a little sleight of hand, a scammer could switch the tickets without replacing the envelope in his pocket. It’s even possible without the envelope at all, but that would leave the fakes in the open and a good con artist would prefer to avoid that.

  This little scam can be repeated a dozen times in as many different places, each scoring the face value of the real tickets. If two tickets cost $150, then we’re close to two grand for a couple of hours of work. Finally we scalp the real tickets to someone for double their price and we’re on our way to a steak dinner.

  In this example, I’ve deliberately played out most of the likely outcomes, but if I choose my marks carefully and relate to them effectively, the road tends to be much smoother. Once I’ve made it clear that I’m unable to use or sell the tickets, chances are excellent that they will try to convince me to sell.

  What can we learn from this? How does putting ourselves in the hustler’s shoes help us? The first thing we know is not to judge an offer by how the other person looks. A genuine, honestly acquired ticket might come from anyone. We also know that even if the ticket is real, it might be exchanged for a fake when we’re distracted, but even if we hold on to the ticket, it might turn out to be stolen.

  There are so many ways to work a con like this one that the only real defense is to not get involved and to politely decline any unsolicited offers, even if it’s something you really, really want. In a con game, it’s not just a matter of what you are being offered; the circumstances of that opportunity may be just as fake as the prize. None of us believe we can be easily manipulated, but con artists know this and can use this belief as a powerful weapon against us.

  Individual circumstances play a large part in the hook part of the process. In the ticket scam we know that on one particular day there will be a large number of people who either want to see a show or know lots of people who do. With the Pigeon Drop, we know that people need money and are easily attracted to an opportunity once they believe the circumstances. Real-life con artists prey on almost any situation where they can identify a clear need or desire, and they have no standard of common decency. After a natural disaster, they pretend to raise money for those in need; they trawl obituaries to steal from the recently bereaved; they offer phony cures to desperate peop
le with real diseases.

  In all cases, the hustler is taking advantage of what the victims want. In Charleston, Uncle Barry wanted to protect his nephew and check out a potential business deal. Despite his air of indifference, I knew he could smell a potential opportunity but wanted to know a lot more. If his suspicions about me laundering money for the Mob were confirmed in any way, he was sure to walk away, but I had prepared a very convincing journey for Barry. Once he agreed to come along for the ride, he was hooked.

  THE LINE

  My driver picked up Uncle Barry and Randy at their hotel and drove a few miles out of town to Lowndes Grove, a historic South Carolina landmark that’s often rented out for weddings and private events. The large white house at the heart of the property overlooks an enormous lawn, gardens, and a nearby dock. It was the perfect location to introduce Barry to one of my investors.

  We had rented the place for just two hours—a small price to pay for millions of dollars in credibility. Inside, the house was almost empty, ready for any kind of function or event, so we set up a few pieces of patio furniture on the grass. By the time we arrived, John and our southern belle, Angie, who was almost wearing a tiny bikini, were in character as a wealthy businessman and his beautiful wife.

  As he pulled into the estate and drove around the front lawn, Barry’s reaction was everything I’d hoped for. He was sold on John’s wealth from the moment he passed through the gates. But the game was still ours to lose. A slip-up or crack in the story might easily ignite Barry’s suspicion. Charming, intelligent, and casual about his wealth, John was the consummate international investor, soon making Barry feel welcome and respected. Nothing was left to chance; we kept Barry focused on the surroundings, especially Angie’s figure as she lay nearby, soaking up the sun.