The Anatomy of a Con

My new book MAKING DIAMONDS is the story of a troubled young woman who kills in self-defense. But her attacker was the leader of Connecticut’s biggest, meanest biker gang and not even the police can protect her from their vengeance. Here’s a sample.

She runs away to New York City, but without an identity (which both the police and the well-connected gang can trace), she can only find work for cash tips at a Hell’s Kitchen strip bar. She hits bottom but an encounter with the remarkable Georgia Sinclair suggests a new path.

And so our heroine Maddy Stone joins a small band of female grifters who hunt in the highest of Park Avenue society in their quest to separate rotten, money-hungry men from their ill-gotten gains.

The women – The Diamond Girls – love to resurrect the golden oldies, successful cons from the 1920’s and ‘30’s, because in this internet age, everyone is expecting a virtual game. Even the savviest of Wall Street shooters falls like a house of cards when faced with a determined, accomplished grifter.

Perhaps the father of the modern con was a guy name Victor Lustig. Victor documented many of his adventures and created

The 10 Commandments for Con Men

1. Be a patient listener (it is this, not fast talking, that gets a con man his coups);
2. Never look bored;
3. Wait for the other person to reveal any political opinions, then agree with them;
4. Let the other person reveal religious views, then have the same ones;
5. Hint at sex talk, but don’t follow it up unless the other person shows a strong interest;
6. Never discuss illness, unless some special concern is shown;
7. Never pry into a person’s personal circumstances (they’ll tell you all eventually);
8. Never boast – just let your importance be quietly obvious;
9. Never be untidy;
10. Never get drunk.

Of course when a dozen incredible women in the 2020’s get a mark in their sights, they have a few special modifications.

And no man is immune to their attack.

Anatomy of a Con

Nothing is as it seems. If one phrase captures the essence of the Diamond Girls’ cons, it is this.

In 1922, Edward H. Smith wrote Confessions of a Confidence Man. In it, he lists the “six definite steps or stages of growth” of a confidence game.

But Smith’s stages were built for men conning men, in a different age.

The Diamond Girls use evil men’s weaknesses against them. Greed, lust, control, vanity, dishonesty. When the women find someone who fits these descriptors, they plan, the prepare and they pounce. No man, if he has many of these characteristics, is immune to their onslaught of sheer female power.

Here’s how they set it up.

Research – Find his weak spots. Where does he drink? What hustles does he have on the side? How strong is his marriage? Does he abuse any substances? How does he treat his women?

Design a Persona – Be who they expect. You are conning wealthy men. You have to look, talk and dress the part.

Set the scene – Establish the game. Assemble your people. Choose a location. Make him want whatever it is you have vastly more than you do.

Distract – Don’t be afraid to use alcohol and the promise of sex. But never give in. Denial is so much more satisfying and if done correctly, binds him to you more powerfully than steel.

Execute – Go in for the kill. Run the con. Swarm him. Overwhelm him. You know what he wants. Take utter joy in the fact that he’ll never have it. He’ll never have you. But he’ll give you everything and more.

Collapse the Con – Disappear. Better, when he’s lost everything, make him think you lost too. The best cons are those where the victim never knows he’s been conned.

In Making Diamonds, Maddy and the women run a dozen cons from the old days. There are so many to choose from. Here’s a sample. Titles in Red are featured in Making Diamonds. These cons are so much fun to write about, and when you see these spectacular women con the ugliest of Wall Street, or the most ruthless of Madison Avenue, or the most brutal abusers, you’ll cheer for them and cry for more.

1. The Melon Drop – Scammer finds tourist looking the other way, bumps into him. Scammer is carrying a box full of broken glass. It was supposedly a present for grandmother. Has phony receipt. Tourist pays for damage.
2. The Pigeon Drop – Scammer plants an item of value for mark to find. Scammer also has a claim to the item. They decide to split the value by having the mark pay half of the deflated value to the scammer. When scammer gets away, the mark is left with something of zero value. The Sting: Scammer #1 is mugged but, has to deliver $5000 to pay off some bets. He’s late and claims he’ll be killed if he fails. The and Scammer #2 help him. S#1 asked S#2 to deliver the money plus $100 for himself. He refuses, saying the muggers will get him. S #1 asked mark to do it. Mark agrees. S#1 gives him the money (which he shows to him) and mark proceeds to leave. S#2 says muggers will get him. Shows him how to hide the wallet in his pants. Also to put all his money into the package so the muggers get nothing. S#2 switches the package in his pants and mark leaves. The switched package is garbage.
3. The Ring Reward – Scammer 1 tells mark she lost her engagement ring. She says is he finds it, she’ll pay a handsome reward. Gives him a phone number. Scammer 2 finds a valuable ring, offers to sell it to the mark (for less than the reward). Mark pays for the ring, calls the girl but the number is fake. Ring, of course, is worthless.
4. The Spanish Prisoner (Advance Fee, Nigerian Letter Scam) – Mark is contacted by a representative of wealthy, connected person who is incarcerated unjustly in another country. Mark is told he can help in exchange for favors, money and diplomatic connections. Prisoner needs money to help bribe his jailors. Mark pays (and pays) until he wises up or runs out of money. Often mark is encouraged to do something illegal to pay the scammer (or as part of the con) so the mark won’t go to the cops.
5. The Lottery Ticket – Mark is contacted by scammer saying that scammer won a lottery, but because the scammer owes money to the government, he won’t see a nickel. Asks mark to cash in the ticket and sells it to him at a big discount. Mark is shown website that indicates the prize and winning numbers. Ticket is, of course, a forgery.
6. The Bank Examiner – Person approaches mark saying there are irregularities in the bank branch (internal theft). Mark is asked to withdraw money so the Examiner can match it for serial numbers or marked bills or to match bills to the ‘suspected’ teller. Or mark is told the suspected teller is passing counterfeit money and the Examiner needs to check it. The Examiner may either switch your money for counterfeit, or convince you to give access to your account pin.
7. The Overpayment Scam – Scammer pays for goods or services with a counterfeit cheque. But he ‘overpays’. Honest mark calls him and reports the overpayment. Scammer asks mark to deposit the cheque and send scammer the difference in cash. Since cheques take days to clear, if mark sends cash right away, he’s cooked.
8. Fake Workmen – People show up at your door from the gas company (or other) and say they need to check for reported leaks. They ask you to go outside and do something that would help them trace the leak while they look at an appliance inside. Meanwhile they are robbing you.
9. Mustard Dip – Scammer ‘accidentally’ bumps into mark and stains his coat. Before you know it, scammer(s) are removing your jacket, cleaning in, distracting you and stealing your wallet.
10. The Flop – Person with old injury pretends to get hit by car. Falls onto pavement. Says he’ll sue. The paramedic confirms the injury. Mark pays him for ‘hospital bills’ to make the law suit go away.
11. Making Diamonds – Scammer pretends to have a process to turn coal into diamonds, with a secret concoction added to a crucible and forged in a hot fire.
12. The Money Box – Box dispenses perfect counterfeit money starting with plain paper, but runs out after mark buys it. Mark can’t go to police for obvious reasons.
13. Mine Salting – Assays of drilling samples are sprinkled with real ore to make the mark thing the property is valuable.
14. Grandparent Fraud – Older person is contacted by a ‘grandchild’ who desperately needs money. Grandparent is asked not to tell the parent, claiming a ‘special relationship’ with the grandparent.
15. Romance Scam – Man is on international dating site, is asked for money from a ‘too-good-to-be-true’ woman to help her extricate herself from some problem and for travel money to the mark’s country. A variation would be the scammer says she can’t access her money but sends the mark phony cheques to cover the expense. He then wires cash to her for her travel and other expenses.
16. Anti-virus hoax – Fake anti-virus software infects a machine and offers mark to buy ‘software’ to unlock the computer and clean it.
17. Green Goods (Pig in a Poke) – Scammer shows mark a bag of genuine money and says it’s counterfeited with stolen plates. Mark buys the money for big discount from face value, but the bag is switched for plain paper.
18. Thai Gems – Tourist is approached by layers of con men offering to sell duty free gems or suits at big discount. They are feted all over town and to several store fronts. Goods are hugely overpriced. Some cops are in on it.
19. White Van Speakers – Scammer tells mark they have extra inventory that can’t be traced. The ‘inventory’ is usually stolen, broken or very low quality. Mark thinks they’re getting a great deal but because the transaction is likely illegal, they can’t report it.
20. Iraqi Dinar – Mark is convinced to buy foreign currency in a volatile country. Scammer claims to know about an event that will make the currency much more valuable. Also, the ‘discount’ is really a premium.
21. Noorseekee – Soviet / Afghan con whereby Con #1 (the ‘seller’) approached merchants at a large bazaar offering to sell the Noorseekee – brass, stackable cups that were actually packing material for Soviet missiles and were worthless. The merchants would take a small sample, possibly on consignment. Then Con #2 (the ‘buyer’) would come to the market asking around for Noorseekee. He would pay more than the Seller had asked, so the merchant made a profit. Several rounds later, trust is developed. At second last round, ‘buyers’ would empty out the bazaar of all inventory, telling the merchants that they would be back to buy everything they could find. Prices are going up for the in-demand item. Sellers come back, sell a huge amount of Noorseekee to the merchants who then wait for the ‘buyers’ to return. They don’t. Merchants are left holding worthless trinkets that they paid a ton of money for.
22. Badger Game – Mark is coerced into compromising position (e.g. sex) then threatened with exposure if money not paid.
23. Dry-Cleaning Receipt – Receipt for legitimate cleaning is copied thousands of times and sent to thousands of restaurants, claiming damage by a waiter the previous week. The amount is low and the restaurant would pay to avoid small claims court. The payee is a fraud and the address is a drop-box.
24. Clip Joint – Mark is tricked into pre-paying for non-existent goods or services – often illicit. When he runs out of money or becomes suspicious, he is kicked out. He has no recourse because his intended transaction was illegal.
25. Fraudulent Debt Collection – There is no actual debt but the victim is led to believe there is. Sends money via untraceable Western Union or Money Order. May even provide bank account info to make payment.
26. Inheritance Scheme – Mark is led to believe there is an inheritance – usually comes from a ‘law firm’. Firm needs some money up front to pay court / probate / other fees.
27. Psychic Sports Better
    • Con artist has access to an exponential number of potential victims (say 2¹⁰ = 1,024). Scammer sets up a series of bets that have binary outcomes (e.g. team wins or loses, equity index will be higher / low by certain date). Scammer provides ‘win’ prediction to half the group (512) and ‘lose’ prediction to other half. The half that loses is discarded. Winning half of 512 repeats, with half getting ‘win’ prediction, half getting ‘lose’ prediction. Go through several rounds. By round 7 (say), 16 people are left with a perfect record. Scammer approaches these guys with “proof” that he is psychic, really really good, or has a fix in. After all, to each of the 16, the odds of being right 7 times in a row is 1:128. So the marks bet big with the scammer, investing in the scheme. Some wise guys might asked for one more round, to be extra careful. Scammer convinces everyone to do one more round, and 8 are left. They invest big time.
    • If the outcomes are multiple, like horse betting, scammer has fewer rounds. Say there are 8 horses. Start with pool of marks equal to 2 to the power of the number of outcomes. Uses fewer steps, but higher odds.
28. The Fiddle Game – Scammer #1 goes to a restaurant wearing shabby clothes and has a meal. When it’s time to pay for the meal, he claims to have forgotten his wallet, which is at his nearby home. As collateral, he offers to leave his violin. He claims he is a professional violinist and the violin is his most important possession and the source of all his income. The waiter (mark) holds the violin. Scammer #2 comes to the restaurant and sees the violin, claims it’s very valuable and offers a very large sum to buy it. Waiter says it’s not his and Scammer #2 leaves, giving the mark his card. When the owner (Scammer #1) of the violin returns, the waiter tells him that someone wants to buy the violin. The owner ‘needs the cash’ and reluctantly sells it to him. The waiter waits for Scammer #2 to return so he can sell it to him. Of course, Scammer #2 never returns.
29. Bar Bill Scam (Budapest) – Tourist is approached by one or two attractive women for directions. They engage in conversation and the girls suggest they go to a bar near their home. The guy buys them drinks and food and when the bill comes, it is huge. The menus either had no prices or were switched. There’s an ATM in the bar. Owner uses intimidation to demand payment and the girls pretend to be horrified. They promise to meet him the next day with re-payment but never show.
30. Beijing Tea – Tourist is approached by 2 attractive women for conversation. They ask if the mark wants to visit a tea ceremony and he agrees. The ceremony is done and the establishment owner asked for an exorbitant bill to be paid. The women pay and the tourist is obligated to as well. The women work for the tea ceremony owner.
31. The Big Store – A large group of people or a big ‘storefront’ that legitimizes the con. The betting parlor in ‘The Sting’ is an example. Emblematic of the long con.
32. Fake Agent Scam – Young women approached and suggested they would be good for TV. Convinced to pay exorbitant fees for portfolio. Or, particularly in the porn industry, are asked for sexual favors which are filmed.
33. Change Raising – Service provider (scammer) receives a large bill for a service (say $100 for a $60 cab ride). The mark expects $40 change but the scammer quickly switches the $100 for a $10 and claims he’s owed another $50.
34. Fraudulent Invoice Solicitations – Thousands of notices are sent to businesses designed to look exactly like an invoice, but an invoice number, date, pay before date, etc. To make them legal, a notice appears at the bottom: “This is a solicitation for the order of goods or services, or both, and not a bill, invoice, or statement of account due. You are under no obligation to make any payments on account of this offer unless you accept this offer.” But some A/P offices may not see it and will pay the modest amount without questioning it.
35. Predatory Publishers – Seek high fees to publish a manuscript. The mark is desperate to be published. The item is either never published or has very low circ – essentially worthless
36. Promo Cheque – Mark is given document that looks like an authorization to receive prize winnings. All they have to do is sign and return it, along with his bank account # for direct deposit of the winnings. In the fine print, the document actually authorizes something nefarious, like automatic withdrawals from bank account.
37. Boiler Room – Mass mailings or telephone campaigns soliciting the buying of worthless goods or services
38. Recovery Room – After a mark has been sold worthless shares in a boiler room scam, the scammer offers to buy the shares back at a discount so the mark recovers some of his losses. Mark needs to put some money up front for ‘court fees’.
39. Rental Scam – Scammer poses as agent, shows an apartment, gets first and last, cheque clears and mark plans to move in.
40. Blessing Scam – Works with some cultures. Mark puts valuables in a bag which is blessed to remove bad luck. Bag is switched.
41. Pay up or be arrested – Usually a phone or text swindle, mass produced.
42. Public Transport Ticket Scam – Mark is asked to see ticket. If he doesn’t have it, has to pay a fee.
43. Dropped Wallet – Scammer drops wallet and mark picks it up to hand it to him. Scammer accuses mark of stealing some of the money and makes a big scene. Mark hands over some money of his own to make it go away
44. Pyramid Scheme – Scammer publishes phony reports of outsized returns to convince people to invest. He steals the investors’ money and uses part of it to redeem other investors who want to cash out.

Long Cons

1. Financial Crimes – Like Wall Street share purchase plan (David’s scheme in Prometheus Blue)
2. Numbers / Betting – Like The Sting
3. Big Store – Also portrayed in The Sting. Find different scenario. One that would be enhanced if operated by a dozen beautiful women. Girl-a-week club for uber-wealthy men?
4. Making Diamonds

I hope you’ll get an opportunity to read Making Diamonds. Check out the book description, with a sample of the story here.