Steps in a con game 14

Once the "inside man" has the attention of the mark, the next step is to get the mark to determine how much money he will invest.

     All the parties to this con game want the mark to invest as much money as possible.  After all, the entire purpose of a con game is to entice the mark to give all his money to the con artists.  No matter how much money is invested, however, it is all going to enrich the con artists, not the investor.

     One of the more common ploys to get the mark to invest the most money is the simple enticing question: "how much money do you want to earn?  The more you invest, the more you can earn."  It is a basic come-on scheme.

     If the mark is convinced that he will make a lot of money from a little investment, then of course the normal mark will only invest a little at first.  After all, the mark has to make certain that the investment really will make a return.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Steps in a con game 13

OK - so we have met the "inside man."  Now what?

     The purpose of the inside man is to show the mark how he can make money.  The inside man is the one who will tell the mark everything he needs to know AND wants to hear about how he can make an insane amount of money with the investment.

     Don't forget - the entire purpose of confidence schemes is to entice the mark into playing the game, and the only real way to get the mark to play the game is to convince him that by investing with the inside man, such insane amounts of money can be made.  After all, if the mark is just looking to get an "average" return on his investment, there exist plenty of natural and safe investments, such as CD's, investments into bonds or conservative investments into the stock market.  All the parties in the con game are betting, however, that the mark is looking for fantastic returns, hence the interest in the game.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Steps in a con game 12

OK - the mark has met the "inside man" or the third man (with all due respect to Orson Wells).  Now, the third man has to do his job - he has to tell the mark how he can make money.  This is the next step.

     The whole point of a con game is to "con" the mark - to gain the mark's CONfidence so that he will trust the con man and his associates and give them money.  Well, the mark is not going to give money over to another party without the expectation that more money will be gained from the transaction (for the mark).  The third man needs to show the mark how the money will be made.  From this, the mark needs to be convinced that this is a legitimate "investment" opportunity and that it is not only OK to turn over his money, he would be foolish not to do so.

     Remember Bernie Madoff - Madoff is the third man in all of this and Madoff is the one who convinced the mark to turn over their money to him.  Now - in Madoff's case, he had an enormous advantage in that his reputation was so secure that he really did not have to "sell" his product.  But, the concept is the same.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Steps in a con game 11

Remember our discussion from yesterday - the next step in the con game is to get the mark introduced to the "inside man" - the man who has all the information, who is the heart of the scheme to earn money for the mark.

     Why is this step necessary?  Well, unlike all the steps we are discussing, this step is not mandatory.  This element is not essential for the entirety of the con game.  Sometimes the person who introduces himself to the mark is the "inside man."

     Yet, for the psychology of the situation, it is often better to have a third person involved.  First, this helps to lessen any anxiety the mark may have about the situation.  Obviously, if more people are involved, then there is less the chance that the whole thing is a scam.  Further, if a third person is involved, then it appears to the mark that other people have made money from this scam.  Also, a third person provides a different "view" of the scam to the mark, which also provides reinforcement.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Steps in a con game 10

Now, let's move onto the next step.  Now that the con man has identified his mark and has sized him up, it's time to up the ante.  Now, the con man must introduce him to the "inside man" who can let the mark into the scheme.

     By "inside man," I mean the person who is behind the entire scheme.  Now, this can be the con man himself, or it can be a third party who is a "friend" of the con man who is doing the con man a favor by letting the mark into the scheme.

     Remember what we discussed about Bernie Madoff, arguably the architect of the most successful Ponzi scheme of all time.  People were begging to get involved in this scheme.  Madoff did not just open the door to anyone - you had to have some special connection to even talk to Madoff.  Madoff, in this instance, was the "inside man" (or one of Madoff's close associates).  Madoff was the man who could make it all happen, but he did not have to hang out his shingle or do any advertising; rather, Madoff had other people bring him marks who, when introduced to Madoff, felt that they were becoming part of a special world.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Steps in a con game 9

Before we leave this topic, let's talk about once again how a con man uses his own understanding of psychology to his benefit.

     Everyone on this planet will have some time in his life when he is emotionally vulnerable.  It is at these times when our "guard" is down, when we are more vulnerable to sales pitches and "investment" schemes.  Con men, the ones that are good at it anyway, can spot these emotional downturns and use it to their advantage.

     How can we guard ourselves from such emotional states?  There is no simple answer.  We have a hard enough time recognizing when we are emotionally vulnerable, much less when someone is trying to take advantage of us when we are in such a state.  The best advice I can give (other than the obvious - always check "investment" schemes with a qualified attorney, CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner or other professional), is to always remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it generally is.

     That and always have good friends who can help you through such bad periods of our lives.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

Steps in a con game 8

Let's discuss another method by which a con man gets his mark - exploiting the mark when he is psychologically vulnerable.

     Con men, at least the good ones, have been doing this for a while.  In their own way, good con men are expert psychologists who can spot human weaknesses.  In addition, good con men do their research.  They research their marks before a move is made.  If inside information can be discovered, such as that a mark's close relative died, or the mark is suffering from some sort of disease, or even if the mark is going through a mid-life crisis, this only helps the con man in his job.  A good con man will therefore even use private investigators, corporate spies or, as the situation demands, prostitutes or criminals to obtain the information necessary about the mark.

     If a mark is psychologically vulnerable, he is more apt to listen to the con man's proposals.  And, half the battle is already over for the con man.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk