fandomhigh | Cons & Confidence Men: How Not to Get Taken, Class 1

The Danger Shop had been turned into small bar, with couches and chairs around a few small coffee tables. Handouts with biographies of the confidence people mentioned during the class were there to be taken. Drinks were at the bar, and bowls of chips and plates of appetizers laid out for the students. Sophie might have been taking her cue from play practices, and the feeding of actors.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to Cons & Confidence, or How Not to Get Taken. For those of you who haven't met me before, I'm Sophie Devereaux. Feel free to call me Sophie or Ms. Devereaux. This class is directed at exploring the most common confidence games in this world, and how to avoid becoming a victim of a confidence game. Some games are so common that they’re legend-- selling the Brooklyn Bridge, for instance." Sophie smiled in amusement. "George Parker sold the Brooklyn Bridge multiple times over 90 years ago-- a game that would be impossible these days, because it is so well-known. Yet variations on con games all follow certain themes. There’s axioms on caveat emptor that go back as far as writing."

Sophie paused. "However, it’s not true you can’t cheat an honest man. Confidence games don’t depend on the victim’s greed, as you might have heard. They depend on people’s wish to believe. Believe in what, precisely? Well, Princess Caraboo, aka Mary Ann Baker, perpetrated a hoax whereby she was mistaken for royalty for several months-- even though she was not speaking any ‘known’ language to make that kind of claim-- based on a bored populace’s wish to believe that someone exotic and interesting was visiting their rather boring community. P.T. Barnum skillfully entertained and 'humbugged' audiences who were looking for new experiences, even as he debunked spiritualist frauds himself. And forensic scientist Arthur Conan Doyle wanted to believe in fairies-- enough to give his official support to some trick photography perpetrated by a 16-year-old and 10-year-old. The people involved gave their money, their time, and their trust to the endeavours of liars and thieves."

"We’ll also explore why people become con artists. Is it actually greed? There’s easier ways to get money. Why do you think? Is it laziness? Some cons are so elaborate that they require years of research to pull off. What’s the appeal?" She smiled. "Why would you perpetrate a con?"

"Now. Please introduce yourselves-- giving us a name we can call you, even if it’s not your own-- and explain who you would choose to con in this classroom, and why?"

"And last... what is it you want to believe? What would you be willing to spend money, time, and confidence on, to achieve? What dream could someone subvert? Think about it, even if you don’t feel comfortable sharing it with the class."

Class Roster & Syllabus [OCD up, and have at it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Claiming to be someone else, or related to someone rich or famous, in order to reap the rewards?" Sophie tilted her head, considering. "Not impossible, given the right documentation and proper preparation. Do you know how you'd approach that? And avoid being revealed as yourself?"

Leaving aside the one he knew inside and out..."Well, my early childhood is kind of messy," Roy said. "I was orphaned as a toddler, and my father was a single parent before then. They couldn't find any other relatives." He paused, then said significantly, "At the time. So, if I wanted to, say, present myself as a long-lost relative..."

"Oh, well done," Sophie said, obviously pleased. "Much less preparation required, much less reason to come up with difficult lies; you simply have to react normally to the news of your new family, and as if you have no ulterior motives. Excellent premise."

Plus, as far as documentation went, he had a card up his sleeve there, too. "Also, I have no idea who my mother is," Roy said. "It was left blank on my birth certificate, and yes, I'm aware of how weird that is, but there you have it." It wasn't like he could ask his dad why the side of the birth certificate that should've been without question had been left blank, could he?

"That is very odd," Sophie said, and some always-on-alert part of her brain noted what a good opportunity that would be for someone to attempt to con Roy, by claiming to be his mother. "So you couldn't be expected to come up with details that don't exist."

Yes, well, Roy had a giant blind spot labeled 'mother figures.' We weren't going to go into his daddy issues right now. "Exactly," Roy said. "It's always been kind of a mystery, but so is pretty much everything else, so." He shrugged.

"That would be something that someone else might be able to exploit too," Sophie felt like she had to add. "Perhaps as a way to get to someone else through you, at some point in the future. Positions of trust are hard to come by, but it might be worth someone's while."

Roy hadn't thought of that, but he shrugged again and said, "There wouldn't be much point, really. I mean, the guy who took me in latest had money, yeah, but he lost it all, and he disowned me anyway."

Of course, at some point in the future Ollie would get his money back and Roy would be back in the will, but at the moment he was cynical and not prescient.

"But you might know people who have money, still," Sophie pointed out. "Invitations to the right places, or simply access." She shrugged her shoulders, and lightly said, "There are many ways to con someone. As long as you're aware of the possibility..."

He did know Bruce Wayne, but he thought the odds of someone perpetuating a con on BATMAN were about nil. "Maybe," he said. "I'll try to keep it in mind."

Really, this boy would be a ridiculously easy target for someone with experience, with all his tragedies and uncertainties in his past; Sophie tamped down her anxiety for him, and smiled. "Which is why we're here, after all. To be prepared."

Really, couldn't someone give him a stuffed bunny or something?... Right, Parker would never share.

Cons & Confidence Men: How Not to Get Taken, Class 1

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!

Re: Introduce yourself!