John Constantine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
talentforlying) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2026-01-14 12:05 pm
talentforlying) wrote in fandomhigh2026-01-14 12:05 pm
Entry tags:
The Long Con, Wednesday, Period 1 [1/14]
They came back. That was fucked-up.
But John had taken the time to write out two big lists on the board, so at least that did not go to waste.
"Right then," Constantine started briskly. "If I'm going to teach you lot about how to run a con -- or avoid one," that was for you, Jon, "--then we need to start with vocabulary and structure. Words have meaning, and that meaning builds the trap."
"You might hear a con referred to as a scam, confidence trick, game, or scheme. Other terms include ripoff, stratagem, finesse, grift, hustle, bunko, bunco, swindle, flimflam, gaffle, and bamboozle."
"A con always has at least two players - your mastermind and your target. The perpetrator is often referred to as a scammer, confidence man, con man or artist, grifter, hustler, or swindler. The intended victims are also known as marks, suckers, stooges, mugs, rubes, or gulls -- from the word gullible. When accomplices are employed, they are usually known as shills."
"So those are your players, yeah? Small cons tend to have smaller teams, and fewer marks. A short con or small con is a fast swindle that takes just minutes, possibly seconds. It typically aims to rob the victim of their money or other valuables that they carry on their person or are guarding. Think like a shell game, or a quick change. A long con or long game is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks; it may involve a team of swindlers, and even props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of a huge amount of money or other valuables, sometimes by getting them to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members." Constantine grinned. "Or in my favorite long game, I got a whole new body and immunity from death out of hell. A good long game can pay off, but it's a bigger risk."
"So, let's talk the 'academic' side of it -- AKA how it works."
"In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward Smith lists the 'six definite steps or stages of growth,'" yes, John was rolling his eyes at the pompousness of that, "--of a confidence game. He says that some steps may be omitted, done in a different order, or carried out at the same time. Think of it less as an order of operations, and more like a recipe where you're throwing shit in a blender. Alternatively, in The Big Con, David Maurer writes that all cons progress through certain fundamental stages and that there are ten stages for a big con.'"
Constantine gestured at the board. "You can see them there."
"Now, the drawbacks to these is that they assume the con is always about money, which, is most common for a standard con, but it does fundamentally limit how creative you can get if you stick to the 'academic' approach."
"So what do you feel is missing from those lists? Why? Where do you feel you can get creative?"
But John had taken the time to write out two big lists on the board, so at least that did not go to waste.
The Six Steps Con
Foundation work
Approach
Build-up
Pay-off or convincer
The "hurrah"
The in-and-in
vs.
Maurer's Ten Stages
Locating and investigating a well-to-do victim. (Putting the mark up.)
Gaining the victim’s confidence. (Playing the con for him.)
Steering him to meet the insideman. (Roping the mark.)
Permitting the insideman to show him how he can make a large amount of money dishonestly. (Telling him the tale.)
Allowing the victim to make a substantial profit. (Giving him the convincer.)
Determining exactly how much he will invest. (Giving him the breakdown.)
Sending him home for this amount of money. (Putting him on the send.)
Playing him against a big store and fleecing him. (Taking off the touch.)
Getting him out of the way as quietly as possible. (Blowing him off.)
Forestalling action by the law. (Putting in the fix.)
"Right then," Constantine started briskly. "If I'm going to teach you lot about how to run a con -- or avoid one," that was for you, Jon, "--then we need to start with vocabulary and structure. Words have meaning, and that meaning builds the trap."
"You might hear a con referred to as a scam, confidence trick, game, or scheme. Other terms include ripoff, stratagem, finesse, grift, hustle, bunko, bunco, swindle, flimflam, gaffle, and bamboozle."
"A con always has at least two players - your mastermind and your target. The perpetrator is often referred to as a scammer, confidence man, con man or artist, grifter, hustler, or swindler. The intended victims are also known as marks, suckers, stooges, mugs, rubes, or gulls -- from the word gullible. When accomplices are employed, they are usually known as shills."
"So those are your players, yeah? Small cons tend to have smaller teams, and fewer marks. A short con or small con is a fast swindle that takes just minutes, possibly seconds. It typically aims to rob the victim of their money or other valuables that they carry on their person or are guarding. Think like a shell game, or a quick change. A long con or long game is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks; it may involve a team of swindlers, and even props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of a huge amount of money or other valuables, sometimes by getting them to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members." Constantine grinned. "Or in my favorite long game, I got a whole new body and immunity from death out of hell. A good long game can pay off, but it's a bigger risk."
"So, let's talk the 'academic' side of it -- AKA how it works."
"In Confessions of a Confidence Man, Edward Smith lists the 'six definite steps or stages of growth,'" yes, John was rolling his eyes at the pompousness of that, "--of a confidence game. He says that some steps may be omitted, done in a different order, or carried out at the same time. Think of it less as an order of operations, and more like a recipe where you're throwing shit in a blender. Alternatively, in The Big Con, David Maurer writes that all cons progress through certain fundamental stages and that there are ten stages for a big con.'"
Constantine gestured at the board. "You can see them there."
"Now, the drawbacks to these is that they assume the con is always about money, which, is most common for a standard con, but it does fundamentally limit how creative you can get if you stick to the 'academic' approach."
"So what do you feel is missing from those lists? Why? Where do you feel you can get creative?"
OOC