Confidence trick

A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty, honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, naïveté and greed.

Terminology

The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". The first known usage of the term "confidence man" in English was in 1849 by the New York City press, during the trial of William Thompson. Thompson chatted with strangers until he asked if they had the confidence to lend him their watches, whereupon he would walk off with the watch. He was captured when a victim recognized him on the street.

A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", or "gulls" (i.e. gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills.

Scam (disambiguation)

A scam or confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence.

Scam may also refer to:

See also

Scam (film)

Scam is a 1993 television film adaptation of crime drama novel by Craig Smith named Ladystinger. It originally aired on Showtime in May 1993.

Plot

Maggie Rohrer (Lorraine Bracco) is a seductive con-artist scamming the rich in Miami Beach. When she picks the wrong mark, Jack Shanks (Christopher Walken), he blackmails her into working with him on the ultimate scam in Jamaica. He wants to use her talents in a much bigger scam: ripping off a crime lord by getting at his programmer's computer files. But she starts to have doubts about what he's really after when she finds a huge stash of loot with the disks. He claims no knowledge of the money, she distrusts him, he's using her, things start getting dangerous and even murderous - and then her boyfriend shows up. When the scam turns deadly, murder and double-cross become the only way to finish their dangerous game.

DVD release

It is unknown if CBS Home Entertainment will release the film onto DVD or Blu-ray.

Cast

Production

John Flynn says he was offered the film by Showtime on the basis of his work for them on Nails (1992). The movie was shot in Jamaica. Flynn: