1 Origin of the Term “Con Man”
The term “con man” (or “con artist”) stands for “confidence man” and inspired the use of “con” as a verb. These terms gained popularity during the mid-1800s.
2. Hoaxers, showmen, and con artists invented most so-called “medieval torture devices” in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many of these devices, which are displayed in museums around the world, are actually fake.
3. An American con artist named Anthony Gignac posed as a member of Saudi royalty and defrauded investors of $8.1 million over several years. Authorities caught him in 2017 when the supposed Muslim prince ordered pork at a restaurant. In 2019, a court sentenced him to 18 years in prison.
4. A Brazilian con artist named Carlos Kaiser built a decade-long career as a football player from 1979 to 1992 by signing with multiple teams without ever playing a single game. On the one occasion he nearly had to play, he started a fight to get a red card and avoid taking the field.
5. In 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay went missing in San Antonio, Texas. Three years later, a 23-year-old French con artist named Frédéric Bourdin impersonated Nicholas and lived with his family for months. Despite his French accent and different-colored eyes, he managed to fool them. Authorities eventually arrested him, and he served six years in prison. He claims to have assumed at least 500 false identities.
6 Van Brink’s Ruby Scam and Offshore Bank
In 1997, a bankrupt con artist from Oregon named Van Brink opened an offshore bank in Grenada by fraudulently claiming ownership of a $20 million 4-pound ruby. The actual owner of the ruby, a man in California, was unaware of the scam.
7. Victor Lustig, a notorious con artist, famously “sold” the Eiffel Tower twice in 1925 to scrap metal dealers in one of history’s most daring scams.
8. The phrase “let the cat out of the bag” originated in the late Middle Ages. Con artists would place a cat in a bag and claim it was a piglet. Buyers often agreed on a price without inspecting the contents, leading to later laws granting the right to inspect products before purchase.
9. In 1806, a con artist named Mary Bateman inscribed “Christ is coming” on chicken eggs and then reinserted them into the chickens. She charged a penny for people to witness the “miraculous” eggs being laid. Authorities later executed her for murder, and strips of her skin were sold as charms to ward off evil spirits.
10. A scam artist named Dennis Lee Montgomery deceived multiple U.S. government agencies into spending over $20 million on fake intelligence software. In 2003, the CIA grounded a U.S.-bound flight after the software flagged a credible threat. An investigation later revealed the con.
11 Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy’s Necklace Scam
In 1784, Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, a French noblewoman and a con artist, tricked a cardinal into buying a $15.1 million diamond necklace by pretending to be a confidante of Marie Antoinette. This scam caused irreparable damage to the Crown’s reputation and fueled support for the French Revolution.
12. Sonya Golden Hand was a Russian con artist who carried out several meticulously planned robberies and stole tens of thousands of rubles in the 1880s. Authorities eventually captured her and exiled her to a penal colony. After she attempted to escape while disguised as a guard, they placed her in solitary confinement.
13. German con artist Victor Lustig created and sold a “money box” he claimed could print $100 bills. Victims, eager for profit, paid a high price for the machine, which contained six to nine genuine $100 bills for demonstration. However, it produced only blank paper afterward.
14. Con artist Frank Abagnale, famously portrayed in Catch Me If You Can, fabricated most of his story. His autobiography, which recounted his supposed crimes, turned out to be the most successful con he ever pulled.
15. The German con artist Victor Lustig once even tricked Al Capone out of $5,000 by convincing him to invest $50,000 in a scam. After two months, he returned the full amount, claiming the scam had failed and he had no money left to support himself. Touched by his “honesty,” Capone gave him $5,000 to “tide him over.”
16 Lou Pearlman’s Ponzi Scheme and Music Scams
Music producer Lou Pearlman, who managed both the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, was also a con artist who defrauded them out of millions. He later orchestrated one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, leaving investors with over $300 million in losses.
17. In 1849 New York, a man approached strangers, gained their trust, and asked, “Do you have the confidence to trust me with your watch until tomorrow?” He never returned the watches. When authorities caught him, they labeled him a “confidence man,” a term later shortened to “con man.”
18. A con artist named L.W. Wright tricked officials into letting him compete in a NASCAR race in the spring of 1982. Despite making it to the race, he was black-flagged after just 13 laps because he lacked the skills of a real race car driver. Afterward, he disappeared and has remained in hiding, with warrants issued for his arrest.
19. From 1821 to 1837, a Scottish con artist named General Gregor MacGregor orchestrated the “Poyais Scheme,” convincing the public in the UK that he ruled a paradise-like, nonexistent Kingdom of Poyais. He even wrote a constitution and established Poyais embassies in the UK to bolster his deception.
20. George C. Parker was a notorious con man who repeatedly “sold” the Brooklyn Bridge to unsuspecting tourists. Some buyers even attempted to erect toll barriers on the bridge.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Nik Russian’s Reality TV Con
In 2002, a British man named Nik Russian conned 30 people into believing they were part of a reality TV series. Many “contestants” gave up their homes and jobs, only to end up sleeping on the floor of the cameraman’s flat. Authorities never pursued a criminal case against the perpetrator.
22. The “melon drop” scam, which is common among con men in Europe, targets Japanese tourists by exploiting their familiarity with high fruit prices in Japan. Scammers would purchase a watermelon cheaply, then bump into a tourist and demand around $100 for the supposedly broken melon. Today, the scam often involves other broken items.
23. During the response to a major bridge collapse in Oklahoma in 2002, an ex-con impersonated a U.S. Army captain and took control of the disaster site. He directed FBI agents, commandeered vehicles and equipment, and led rescue efforts for two days before fleeing the scene.
24. In 2015, two con men in Spain sold a fake Goya painting for €1.5 million, only to discover that the buyer had paid them with counterfeit money.
25. A scambaiter named Mike tricked a “Nigerian Prince” scammer into sending $80 by pretending to be Father Hector Barnett of “The Church of the Painted Breast.” Mike then convinced the scammer to participate in the church’s fictitious initiation process.
