Comments on: Art of Con Games Part 2

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:51:40 +0000

Honest people with less greed are less vulnerable to such cons.

By: weeklyrob » Lemme Just Hold Your Wallet

weeklyrob » Lemme Just Hold Your Wallet — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:14:13 +0000

[...] The Pigeon Drop. [...]

By: Jim Tatro

Jim Tatro — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 21:47:21 +0000

Wow, these videos were awsome,

Crass,

Claims about supernatural events are only believable if they come directly from supernatural entities. (Although, by interacting with the world they would necessarily be “natural” entities, I suppose)

If claims of “end times” and other prophecies come from scraps of paper written upon with ink by very “non-supernatural” people (bronze-age con artists), then I am very skeptical of them.

Calling it a “fact” adds no heft to the argument.

By: Crass Børsting

Crass Børsting — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:42:07 +0000

P.S. Thanks a lot for the videos. Instructive and funny.

By: Crass Børsting

Crass Børsting — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:41:20 +0000

The day (the hour, the minute) God proves his existence, this world as we know it comes to an end. You can believe in God or leave him out of the picture, but proof will not be delivered as a matter of everyday life.

All kinds of hustlers can turn a profit on this fact, but it is a fact never the less.

By: GH

GH — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:39:21 +0000

Ed,

Simple. Ask for proof. Not claims about miracles; hard, tangible proof.

By: Ed Johnson

Ed Johnson — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:58:23 +0000

Amazing. I’d be interested in any thoughts about belief in God and religion as scams for the gullible. Any ideas about how to help people avoid that scam?

By: lindsay

lindsay — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:46:24 +0000

In November 2008 I was a gullible pigeon and lost $6000. Some people I understand have lost their life’s savings. Beware,of trying to help others if it involves money, and especially you are vulnerable if you are a senior citizen (whose instincts are not as sharp as they once were), which I am. The scam worked on me but was a different scenario yet similar to what you have shown.

By: KarenS

KarenS — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:01:49 +0000

So, if you’re in that situation, the proper response would be, “Oh my, yes, that is my wallet, thank you so much for noticing I dropped it!” Then you walk away with their three grand.

Too bad I’d never think quickly enough to pull it off, even if I ever did find myself in that situation. Thanks, Mr Shermer, for the video–it was very informative.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:46:21 +0000

I can’t believe he fell for it. I think I’d have alarm bells going off in my head at handing my wallet over to anyone… even if I did have $3k in my pocket, I could stand to loose so much more. Still it’s worked for ages.