Author: Charles Tive
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9780595413867
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 168
Book Description
The "419" scam is an aspect of transnational financial crime with a 'modus operandi' peculiar to the Nigerian swindler. The most recurrent type of transnational "419" scam is the "advance fee fraud". It is usually introduced in the form of a business contract, a transfer of stolen money or money from over-invoiced contract, the purchase of crude oil from Nigeria at a relatively cheap rate, and transfer of money left by a deceased person (will scam). In all situations, the victim is eventually lured into an endless period of advance fee payment. The "black money" scam is almost as popular as the advance fee fraud and is sometimes, practiced in continuation of advance fee scam. The victim is introduced to a large sum of money that needs to be cleaned by a special liquid solution. The victim parts with money upon the supposition that the black money would be cleaned and given to him. The con man gets away with the victim's money leaving him with a bunch of worthless papers. The 419 Scam business is not restricted to defrauding foreigners. There are two groups of con men in Nigeria: The local and the International "419ners". The local groups specialize in defrauding Nigerians while the more advanced International syndicates fish out victims from Europe, America, Asia and South Africa. The local ones eventually grow to international status after they have made enough money to acquire computers, facsimile and telephone lines and other gadgets necessary for the scam business. "Tive's insight of the perpetrators behind the advance fee fraud coupled with his knowledge on the topic show that he is a true authority on the subject."- Ralph A. Gonzales, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Secret Service "This book by Charles Tive is an excellent portrayal of the 419 scam, its operators, and its basic operations."-Gary M. Gibson, Regional Security Officer, U.S. Consulate Lagos. ".is a scholarly but readable summary of the history of and methods used by Nigerian scam / 419 operations."-The 419 Coalition, USA.
419 Scam
Author: Charles Tive
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9780595413867
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 168
Book Description
The "419" scam is an aspect of transnational financial crime with a 'modus operandi' peculiar to the Nigerian swindler. The most recurrent type of transnational "419" scam is the "advance fee fraud". It is usually introduced in the form of a business contract, a transfer of stolen money or money from over-invoiced contract, the purchase of crude oil from Nigeria at a relatively cheap rate, and transfer of money left by a deceased person (will scam). In all situations, the victim is eventually lured into an endless period of advance fee payment. The "black money" scam is almost as popular as the advance fee fraud and is sometimes, practiced in continuation of advance fee scam. The victim is introduced to a large sum of money that needs to be cleaned by a special liquid solution. The victim parts with money upon the supposition that the black money would be cleaned and given to him. The con man gets away with the victim's money leaving him with a bunch of worthless papers. The 419 Scam business is not restricted to defrauding foreigners. There are two groups of con men in Nigeria: The local and the International "419ners". The local groups specialize in defrauding Nigerians while the more advanced International syndicates fish out victims from Europe, America, Asia and South Africa. The local ones eventually grow to international status after they have made enough money to acquire computers, facsimile and telephone lines and other gadgets necessary for the scam business. "Tive's insight of the perpetrators behind the advance fee fraud coupled with his knowledge on the topic show that he is a true authority on the subject."- Ralph A. Gonzales, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Secret Service "This book by Charles Tive is an excellent portrayal of the 419 scam, its operators, and its basic operations."-Gary M. Gibson, Regional Security Officer, U.S. Consulate Lagos. ".is a scholarly but readable summary of the history of and methods used by Nigerian scam / 419 operations."-The 419 Coalition, USA.
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 9780595413867
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 168
Book Description
The "419" scam is an aspect of transnational financial crime with a 'modus operandi' peculiar to the Nigerian swindler. The most recurrent type of transnational "419" scam is the "advance fee fraud". It is usually introduced in the form of a business contract, a transfer of stolen money or money from over-invoiced contract, the purchase of crude oil from Nigeria at a relatively cheap rate, and transfer of money left by a deceased person (will scam). In all situations, the victim is eventually lured into an endless period of advance fee payment. The "black money" scam is almost as popular as the advance fee fraud and is sometimes, practiced in continuation of advance fee scam. The victim is introduced to a large sum of money that needs to be cleaned by a special liquid solution. The victim parts with money upon the supposition that the black money would be cleaned and given to him. The con man gets away with the victim's money leaving him with a bunch of worthless papers. The 419 Scam business is not restricted to defrauding foreigners. There are two groups of con men in Nigeria: The local and the International "419ners". The local groups specialize in defrauding Nigerians while the more advanced International syndicates fish out victims from Europe, America, Asia and South Africa. The local ones eventually grow to international status after they have made enough money to acquire computers, facsimile and telephone lines and other gadgets necessary for the scam business. "Tive's insight of the perpetrators behind the advance fee fraud coupled with his knowledge on the topic show that he is a true authority on the subject."- Ralph A. Gonzales, Special Agent-in-Charge, United States Secret Service "This book by Charles Tive is an excellent portrayal of the 419 scam, its operators, and its basic operations."-Gary M. Gibson, Regional Security Officer, U.S. Consulate Lagos. ".is a scholarly but readable summary of the history of and methods used by Nigerian scam / 419 operations."-The 419 Coalition, USA.
I Do Not Come to You by Chance
Author: Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0297858726
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
'Sparklingly funny' Wired Magazine '[Nwaubani] not merely explores a side of modern existence that touches millions every day, but does so with wit, warmth and insight' Independent 'Beautifully written' Sunday Herald Kingsley is fresh out of university, eager to find an engineering job so he can support his family and marry the girl of his dreams. Being the opara of the family, he is entitled to certain privileges - a piece of meat in his egusi soup, a party to celebrate his graduation. But times are hard in Nigeria and jobs are not easy to come by. For much of his young life, Kingsley believed that education was everything, that through wisdom, all things were possible. But when a tragedy befalls his family, Kingsley learns the hardest lesson of all: education may be the language of success in his country, but it is money that does the talking. In desperation he turns to his uncle, Boniface-aka Cash Daddy-an exuberant character who suffers from elephantiasis of the pocket. He is also rumoured to run a successful empire of email scams. But he can help. With Cash Daddy's intervention, Kingsley and his family can be as safe as a tortoise under its shell. It is up to Kingsley now, to reconcile his passion for knowledge with his hunger for money, to fully assume his role of first son. But can he do it without being drawn into this outlandish milieu?
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0297858726
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
'Sparklingly funny' Wired Magazine '[Nwaubani] not merely explores a side of modern existence that touches millions every day, but does so with wit, warmth and insight' Independent 'Beautifully written' Sunday Herald Kingsley is fresh out of university, eager to find an engineering job so he can support his family and marry the girl of his dreams. Being the opara of the family, he is entitled to certain privileges - a piece of meat in his egusi soup, a party to celebrate his graduation. But times are hard in Nigeria and jobs are not easy to come by. For much of his young life, Kingsley believed that education was everything, that through wisdom, all things were possible. But when a tragedy befalls his family, Kingsley learns the hardest lesson of all: education may be the language of success in his country, but it is money that does the talking. In desperation he turns to his uncle, Boniface-aka Cash Daddy-an exuberant character who suffers from elephantiasis of the pocket. He is also rumoured to run a successful empire of email scams. But he can help. With Cash Daddy's intervention, Kingsley and his family can be as safe as a tortoise under its shell. It is up to Kingsley now, to reconcile his passion for knowledge with his hunger for money, to fully assume his role of first son. But can he do it without being drawn into this outlandish milieu?
The Little Black Book of Scams
Author: Industry Canada
Publisher: Competition Bureau Canada
ISBN: 1100232400
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 45
Book Description
The Canadian edition of The Little Black Book of Scams is a compact and easy to use reference guide filled with information Canadians can use to protect themselves against a variety of common scams. It debunks common myths about scams, provides contact information for reporting a scam to the correct authority, and offers a step-by-step guide for scam victims to reduce their losses and avoid becoming repeat victims. Consumers and businesses can consult The Little Black Book of Scams to avoid falling victim to social media and mobile phone scams, fake charities and lotteries, dating and romance scams, and many other schemes used to defraud Canadians of their money and personal information.
Publisher: Competition Bureau Canada
ISBN: 1100232400
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 45
Book Description
The Canadian edition of The Little Black Book of Scams is a compact and easy to use reference guide filled with information Canadians can use to protect themselves against a variety of common scams. It debunks common myths about scams, provides contact information for reporting a scam to the correct authority, and offers a step-by-step guide for scam victims to reduce their losses and avoid becoming repeat victims. Consumers and businesses can consult The Little Black Book of Scams to avoid falling victim to social media and mobile phone scams, fake charities and lotteries, dating and romance scams, and many other schemes used to defraud Canadians of their money and personal information.
419: Diplomatic Consignment Scam
Author: Reyzl Yitkin
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781505578942
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 80
Book Description
At the beginning of this summer (2014) I got into correspondence with a charming 'Captain Robert Morgan' who offered me certain irresistible business opportunities that would end my financial difficulties and make it possible to develop the projects I work on, both personal and for the betterment of the country I live in. Contacting him seemed like the answer to my many prayers. The only hitch was that there was no Captain Robert Morgan and no investment plan: it was a '419 Scam, ' so named after the article in Nigeria's Criminal Code dealing with fraud. Actually, it was a variety of the 419 Advance Fee Scam (remember Phillip K.Dick's story 'Second Variety'?). I don't know which order this variety is, but it's called 'Diplomatic Consignment Scam'. Unwittingly, I started 'scam baiting': I played along to see what his game was. And I found out that it was dirty and harmful. I have documented my whole 'romance' with 'Captain Robert' and included useful data that may give a clue on what to do in a similar situation. Nowadays, when we all actively use the Internet, any of us is a potential target of scammers. And these guys have no scruples. I believe my experience will be useful. Please, read it and warn others.
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781505578942
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 80
Book Description
At the beginning of this summer (2014) I got into correspondence with a charming 'Captain Robert Morgan' who offered me certain irresistible business opportunities that would end my financial difficulties and make it possible to develop the projects I work on, both personal and for the betterment of the country I live in. Contacting him seemed like the answer to my many prayers. The only hitch was that there was no Captain Robert Morgan and no investment plan: it was a '419 Scam, ' so named after the article in Nigeria's Criminal Code dealing with fraud. Actually, it was a variety of the 419 Advance Fee Scam (remember Phillip K.Dick's story 'Second Variety'?). I don't know which order this variety is, but it's called 'Diplomatic Consignment Scam'. Unwittingly, I started 'scam baiting': I played along to see what his game was. And I found out that it was dirty and harmful. I have documented my whole 'romance' with 'Captain Robert' and included useful data that may give a clue on what to do in a similar situation. Nowadays, when we all actively use the Internet, any of us is a potential target of scammers. And these guys have no scruples. I believe my experience will be useful. Please, read it and warn others.
Scamorama
Author: Eve Edelson
Publisher: Disinformation Company
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
This book is about liars telling lies with compound interest to other liars. A -struggle is being waged on the Internet between criminals and comedians. On one side are fraudsters who con their victims out of hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The basic tool of the trade is e-mail, and the crime is the infamous "419" scam - a form of fraud whose current masters hail from Nigeria and which gets its name from section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code. It begins with an e-mail from a stranger: I am soliciting your assistance as to enable my family round up the remains of our life. Following the death of my husband Sani Abacha, former head of state of Nigeria, the new president has turned the country against us . . . I will be grateful if you could receive my last $50 million for safe keeping. I will give you 10% as a commission and to cover any expenses . . . On the other side of the struggle, pranksters from around the world are writing back to scammers strictly to waste their time. The resulting literary genre is -scambaiting - psychological warfare for clowns. Some anti-scammers go further, breaking into scammers? e-mail accounts to warn off their victims, and helping law enforcement. This book documents a weird form of cultural exchange made possible by the Internet. It is a hilarious introduction to the "419" scam, with correspondences between scammers and people who love to yank their chains.
Publisher: Disinformation Company
ISBN:
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 220
Book Description
This book is about liars telling lies with compound interest to other liars. A -struggle is being waged on the Internet between criminals and comedians. On one side are fraudsters who con their victims out of hundreds of millions of dollars each year. The basic tool of the trade is e-mail, and the crime is the infamous "419" scam - a form of fraud whose current masters hail from Nigeria and which gets its name from section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code. It begins with an e-mail from a stranger: I am soliciting your assistance as to enable my family round up the remains of our life. Following the death of my husband Sani Abacha, former head of state of Nigeria, the new president has turned the country against us . . . I will be grateful if you could receive my last $50 million for safe keeping. I will give you 10% as a commission and to cover any expenses . . . On the other side of the struggle, pranksters from around the world are writing back to scammers strictly to waste their time. The resulting literary genre is -scambaiting - psychological warfare for clowns. Some anti-scammers go further, breaking into scammers? e-mail accounts to warn off their victims, and helping law enforcement. This book documents a weird form of cultural exchange made possible by the Internet. It is a hilarious introduction to the "419" scam, with correspondences between scammers and people who love to yank their chains.
The Nigerian Prince
Author: John Ellsworth
Publisher: Subjudica House Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40
Book Description
Commander Bowditch warned the Pleasant Manor Home about his mother. They didn't listen. They allowed 84-year-old Ethel Bowditch Internet access. Ten minutes after going online, she had an email address set up. "No email makes for lonely, lonely," she said to no one. The following day she found in her junk email file an email from Barrister Amobi Nzelu. He was writing on behalf of a Nigerian prince who desperately needed Ethel's help in removing 250 million dollars from the United Kingdom. Her help would consist of sending him what money she had to show proof that he had other funds. Ethel jumped at the chance to help. Would $1.2 million help? She wanted to know. She just happened to have that in her account. Enter Commander Bowditch, her son, spit-n-polish newly retired from the United States Navy. Checking in on his mother, he learns of her transfer of assets. To put it nicely, he comes unglued. A trip to Nigeria follows. The book is a modern-day thriller told in a wry tone that is deadly serious when need be. In the end, it is Boko Haram that must be dealt with. This is the deadly serious part. One more character should be noted at this point, and his name is Marcel Rainford, the same Marcel from the Thaddeus Murfee and Michael Gresham books. He comes to Commander Bowditch on loan, prepared to do whatever it takes to retrieve Ethel's money from the jungle-dwelling Nigerian terrorists. The Nigerian Prince is being released by John Ellsworth in ten installments 14 days apart. The books will sell for $1.99 each and be collected into one volume at the end, which you will obtain FREE by sending your email to John Ellsworth, along with your certified review or proof of purchase, whichever you prefer. The single volume will contain photographs, four more stories, and personal news about John Ellsworth and his new publishing company, Subjudica House Press. All in all, the value is a great one. Single episodes will publish every other Friday, so start reading now and be ready for Episode 2!
Publisher: Subjudica House Press
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 40
Book Description
Commander Bowditch warned the Pleasant Manor Home about his mother. They didn't listen. They allowed 84-year-old Ethel Bowditch Internet access. Ten minutes after going online, she had an email address set up. "No email makes for lonely, lonely," she said to no one. The following day she found in her junk email file an email from Barrister Amobi Nzelu. He was writing on behalf of a Nigerian prince who desperately needed Ethel's help in removing 250 million dollars from the United Kingdom. Her help would consist of sending him what money she had to show proof that he had other funds. Ethel jumped at the chance to help. Would $1.2 million help? She wanted to know. She just happened to have that in her account. Enter Commander Bowditch, her son, spit-n-polish newly retired from the United States Navy. Checking in on his mother, he learns of her transfer of assets. To put it nicely, he comes unglued. A trip to Nigeria follows. The book is a modern-day thriller told in a wry tone that is deadly serious when need be. In the end, it is Boko Haram that must be dealt with. This is the deadly serious part. One more character should be noted at this point, and his name is Marcel Rainford, the same Marcel from the Thaddeus Murfee and Michael Gresham books. He comes to Commander Bowditch on loan, prepared to do whatever it takes to retrieve Ethel's money from the jungle-dwelling Nigerian terrorists. The Nigerian Prince is being released by John Ellsworth in ten installments 14 days apart. The books will sell for $1.99 each and be collected into one volume at the end, which you will obtain FREE by sending your email to John Ellsworth, along with your certified review or proof of purchase, whichever you prefer. The single volume will contain photographs, four more stories, and personal news about John Ellsworth and his new publishing company, Subjudica House Press. All in all, the value is a great one. Single episodes will publish every other Friday, so start reading now and be ready for Episode 2!
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Frauds, Scams, and Cons
Author: Duane Swierczynski
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780028644158
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
-- The main target for scams are those 50 years of age or older. -- This book will expose all the latest scams, frauds, and cons -- and can be updated yearly, if necessary, to expose all the latest schemes. Fraud -- credit card fraud, telemarketing scares, Internet scares, identity theft and hundreds of other items that are geared to separate you from your money -- is a multi-billion dollar business, both in the U.S. and worldwide. From a simple three-card monte game on a street corner to sophisticated banking and Wall Street swindles, cons, frauds and scams are destined to strike one in ten Americans this year. Check kiting, ATM scares, bankruptcy fraud, real estate scams, Nigerian money offers, and even slave reparation scams -- there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of ways to get suckered by telemarketers or just plain fast-talking swindlers. Scary stuff, right? This book identifies the myriad of scams, cons, and frauds perpetrated every minute of every day in this country, and gives cutting-edge, up-to-date advice on how you can protect yourself from unscrupulous cons of every conceivable stripe. There will also be an entertaining section on con artists through history, from the infamous grifters of the Great Depression to the masterminds of the recent Enron collapse -- perhaps one of the greatest scams in America's history.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780028644158
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 292
Book Description
-- The main target for scams are those 50 years of age or older. -- This book will expose all the latest scams, frauds, and cons -- and can be updated yearly, if necessary, to expose all the latest schemes. Fraud -- credit card fraud, telemarketing scares, Internet scares, identity theft and hundreds of other items that are geared to separate you from your money -- is a multi-billion dollar business, both in the U.S. and worldwide. From a simple three-card monte game on a street corner to sophisticated banking and Wall Street swindles, cons, frauds and scams are destined to strike one in ten Americans this year. Check kiting, ATM scares, bankruptcy fraud, real estate scams, Nigerian money offers, and even slave reparation scams -- there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of ways to get suckered by telemarketers or just plain fast-talking swindlers. Scary stuff, right? This book identifies the myriad of scams, cons, and frauds perpetrated every minute of every day in this country, and gives cutting-edge, up-to-date advice on how you can protect yourself from unscrupulous cons of every conceivable stripe. There will also be an entertaining section on con artists through history, from the infamous grifters of the Great Depression to the masterminds of the recent Enron collapse -- perhaps one of the greatest scams in America's history.
Double Deceit
Author: Agnes Chambers-Glenn
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 146699438X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
This true story was compiled from the diary of a retired World Health Organization (WHO) medical officer who is deceived and bilked out of tens of thousands of dollars by the African Nigerian scammers. The elderly doctor gets even by devising a plan that traps a scammer's helper in his home and sends him to the Remand Centre in his city. Eventually the fellow is charged and sent to prison for 30 months. Upon discharge, the criminal is deported to his native land, Nigeria. During his first year after having entered Canada as a refugee, he had been charged several times for misdemeanors.
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
ISBN: 146699438X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 247
Book Description
This true story was compiled from the diary of a retired World Health Organization (WHO) medical officer who is deceived and bilked out of tens of thousands of dollars by the African Nigerian scammers. The elderly doctor gets even by devising a plan that traps a scammer's helper in his home and sends him to the Remand Centre in his city. Eventually the fellow is charged and sent to prison for 30 months. Upon discharge, the criminal is deported to his native land, Nigeria. During his first year after having entered Canada as a refugee, he had been charged several times for misdemeanors.
Spam
Author: Finn Brunton
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026252757X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
What spam is, how it works, and how it has shaped online communities and the Internet itself. The vast majority of all email sent every day is spam, a variety of idiosyncratically spelled requests to provide account information, invitations to spend money on dubious products, and pleas to send cash overseas. Most of it is caught by filters before ever reaching an in-box. Where does it come from? As Finn Brunton explains in Spam, it is produced and shaped by many different populations around the world: programmers, con artists, bots and their botmasters, pharmaceutical merchants, marketers, identity thieves, crooked bankers and their victims, cops, lawyers, network security professionals, vigilantes, and hackers. Every time we go online, we participate in the system of spam, with choices, refusals, and purchases the consequences of which we may not understand. This is a book about what spam is, how it works, and what it means. Brunton provides a cultural history that stretches from pranks on early computer networks to the construction of a global criminal infrastructure. The history of spam, Brunton shows us, is a shadow history of the Internet itself, with spam emerging as the mirror image of the online communities it targets. Brunton traces spam through three epochs: the 1970s to 1995, and the early, noncommercial computer networks that became the Internet; 1995 to 2003, with the dot-com boom, the rise of spam's entrepreneurs, and the first efforts at regulating spam; and 2003 to the present, with the war of algorithms—spam versus anti-spam. Spam shows us how technologies, from email to search engines, are transformed by unintended consequences and adaptations, and how online communities develop and invent governance for themselves.
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026252757X
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 295
Book Description
What spam is, how it works, and how it has shaped online communities and the Internet itself. The vast majority of all email sent every day is spam, a variety of idiosyncratically spelled requests to provide account information, invitations to spend money on dubious products, and pleas to send cash overseas. Most of it is caught by filters before ever reaching an in-box. Where does it come from? As Finn Brunton explains in Spam, it is produced and shaped by many different populations around the world: programmers, con artists, bots and their botmasters, pharmaceutical merchants, marketers, identity thieves, crooked bankers and their victims, cops, lawyers, network security professionals, vigilantes, and hackers. Every time we go online, we participate in the system of spam, with choices, refusals, and purchases the consequences of which we may not understand. This is a book about what spam is, how it works, and what it means. Brunton provides a cultural history that stretches from pranks on early computer networks to the construction of a global criminal infrastructure. The history of spam, Brunton shows us, is a shadow history of the Internet itself, with spam emerging as the mirror image of the online communities it targets. Brunton traces spam through three epochs: the 1970s to 1995, and the early, noncommercial computer networks that became the Internet; 1995 to 2003, with the dot-com boom, the rise of spam's entrepreneurs, and the first efforts at regulating spam; and 2003 to the present, with the war of algorithms—spam versus anti-spam. Spam shows us how technologies, from email to search engines, are transformed by unintended consequences and adaptations, and how online communities develop and invent governance for themselves.
The Big Con
Author: David Maurer
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 030775572X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337
Book Description
The classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in Salon called “a bonanza of wild but credible stories, told concisely with deadpan humor, as sly and rich in atmosphere as anything this side of Mark Twain.” “Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat,” wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in The Big Con, one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot, Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers, who let him in on not simply their language but their folkways and the astonishingly complex and elaborate schemes whereby unsuspecting marks, hooked by their own greed and dishonesty, were “taken off” – i.e. cheated—of thousands upon thousands of dollars. The Big Con is a treasure trove of American lingo (the write, the rag, the payoff, ropers, shills, the cold poke, the convincer, to put on the send) and indelible characters (Yellow Kid Weil, Barney the Patch, the Seldom Seen Kid, Limehouse Chappie, Larry the Lug). It served as the source for the Oscar-winning film The Sting.
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 030775572X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337
Book Description
The classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in Salon called “a bonanza of wild but credible stories, told concisely with deadpan humor, as sly and rich in atmosphere as anything this side of Mark Twain.” “Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat,” wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in The Big Con, one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot, Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers, who let him in on not simply their language but their folkways and the astonishingly complex and elaborate schemes whereby unsuspecting marks, hooked by their own greed and dishonesty, were “taken off” – i.e. cheated—of thousands upon thousands of dollars. The Big Con is a treasure trove of American lingo (the write, the rag, the payoff, ropers, shills, the cold poke, the convincer, to put on the send) and indelible characters (Yellow Kid Weil, Barney the Patch, the Seldom Seen Kid, Limehouse Chappie, Larry the Lug). It served as the source for the Oscar-winning film The Sting.