confidence game

confidence game, any elaborate swindling operation in which advantage is taken of the confidence the victim reposes in the swindler. Some countries have created a statutory offense of this name, though the elements of the crime have never been clearly defined by legislation, and the scope of proscribed behaviour remains subject to varying interpretations among jurisdictions.

In its most highly developed form, the confidence game, which has generated its own jargon, victimizes wealthy and prominent individuals. In a typical scheme, an “inside man” induces the victim, or “mark,” into a dishonest gambling establishment. There, the mark sees decoys, or “shills,” who appear to be making big winnings. The inside man advances the mark’s funds, and he is allowed to win with uncanny regularity. When he has reached the point at which he is convinced that additional investment will bring him a substantial win, or a “killing,” the mark is persuaded to leave the game in order to obtain money or documents conveying title to property. When he returns and places his bet, his luck suddenly changes, and his fortune disappears in a matter of minutes.

By the early 1900s, payoffs of as much as $100,000 attracted the interest of racketeers, particularly in the U.S. More elaborate schemes were devised in order to exploit sophisticated and wealthy victims. “Ropers,” posing as rich financiers, industrialists, and millionaire sportsmen, began travelling the world in search of victims. The game itself took on more complicated and convincing formats. A popular swindle, known as past posting, required a dummy telegraph office that was used to persuade the mark that horse-race results could be delayed long enough for him to bet on the winner after the race was won. As soon as the mark committed a large amount of money, sometimes as much as $250,000, the operators disappeared. Another game, called “the rag,” used a fake brokerage house, where the victim was deceived by false stock quotations placed by swindlers, or “con men,” posing as investment brokers.

Confidence games continue to flourish, primarily because prominent victims rarely report them, for fear of being prosecuted for their own complicity in a criminal activity.