Free The Art of the Con by R. Paul Wilson Page B

collarbone. Hockey. The ticket company wouldn’t refund them so I had to pick them up for her.
    Here I play for sympathy but not too strong. That’s a personal choice, but professional scammers have no shame in proclaiming their imaginary children, grannies, or partners as dead if it might lead to a profit.
    MARK: How much were they?
    More like a nibble than a bite but it’s enough. I know they already have tickets so this question is more about my veracity. They’re definitely interested.
    ME: Let me check. Where’s the price?
    I take out the envelope and look at the genuine tickets. I show them to someone so they can spot the price for me, but more important, I’ve put the tickets into their hands, which makes it much harder for them to refuse if they really want them. If I’m lucky, someone at the table needs a pair of tickets, but the bait is already on the table and there’s more than one way to hook our fish.
    Let’s imagine they don’t jump at the chance right away. The soft hook is almost played out.
    MARK: There will be people outside the concert, later. I’m sure you can sell them there.
    ME: No, I need to get to work. You don’t know anyone who wants to go?
    If they did, I’d suggest calling them to see if they wanted my tickets, but it’s important not to hang around too long. I have one last chance to get the money.
    ME: Outside the concert, do they sell these for the normal price or charge more?
    MARK: They charge a lot more. Last year they were charging three hundred dollars!
    Here comes the straight hook:
    ME: You guys are going to the show. Do you want to buy these and sell them tonight? You can make a lot of money—or sell them to someone who deserves to see it without getting ripped off.
    It’s now a direct take it or leave it proposition. I’ve worded it so it speaks to both their desire to make a profit and to their conscience. They could make a lot of money or they could let someone have them for a fair price and avoid being scalped. It’s important not to let this moment become awkward. Some potential marks may automatically say no while others are still considering the idea as I’m putting the tickets away and thanking them for their time. As I go to my pocket, I switch the envelope with the real tickets for one containing fakes. This is a simple switch that anyone can physically pull off but takes real skill to perform naturally, without attracting suspicion. I’ve seen actors and magicians fall to pieces and suffer the shakes in these situations; deception, even when it seems easy, is extremely difficult in the heat of the moment. With enough experience and a little sleight of hand, a scammer could switch the tickets without replacing the envelope in his pocket. It’s even possible without the envelope at all, but that would leave the fakes in the open and a good con artist would prefer to avoid that.
    This little scam can be repeated a dozen times in as many different places, each scoring the face value of the real tickets. If two tickets cost $150, then we’re close to two grand for a couple of hours of work. Finally we scalp the real tickets to someone for double their price and we’re on our way to a steak dinner.
    In this example, I’ve deliberately played out most of the likely outcomes, but if I choose my marks carefully and relate to them effectively, the road tends to be much smoother. Once I’ve made it clear that I’m unable to use or sell the tickets, chances are excellent that they will try to convince me to sell .

    What can we learn from this? How does putting ourselves in the hustler’s shoes help us? The first thing we know is not to judge an offer by how the other person looks. A genuine, honestly acquired ticket might come from anyone. We also know that even if the ticket is real, it might be exchanged for a fake when we’re distracted, but even if we hold on to the