Lessons from the Long Con
It’s April Fools’ Day, a time when we play tricks and pranks on each other. In the 21st Century, I believe that we need even more skepticism on this day considering misinformation, propaganda, and the ability of rumors to spread in the speed of thought.
Humans are fascinated with con artists, trickery, and distraction. How far can we go and how long can we get away with it? Even if you don’t have a Netflix subscription, you likely have heard of The Tinder Swindler, World’s Worst Roommate, and Inventing Anna about the fake German heiress, Anna Delvey.
Before these names became better known, we were all talking about Elizabeth Holmes and the Long Con she perpetrated with the company she founded, Theranos. Some of her investors and advisors were global leaders respected for their intelligence, but they didn’t see what was right in front of them. How were such intelligent people fooled for so long?
Throughout history there are examples of the Long Con, one of the longest being Anna Anderson’s claim to be the missing Romanov Duchess Anastasia. She continued this claim through most of the century and had many supporters. Even Peter Kurth, a well-known and respected Russian historian, said he believed her. Unfortunately, DNA answers most questions, and it turns out Anna Anderson was a young woman from Poland that wandered into Germany and saw an opportunity to borrow someone else’s identity.
So how do they get away with it? They convince people to believe in ideas, give them money, give them places to live, and believe that they are someone they are not. They make outrageous promises while accusing skeptics of having limited vision or small minds.
Being from Missouri, making me a born skeptic, I am fascinated with the Long Con. Building a life of lies is time consuming and requires a lot of planning – and you need to remember who you told what to keep the con alive. Anais Nin, the author, kept a Lie Box so she would remember what she told both of her husbands. That’s right: bigamy is not just for men. Nin had a husband on each coast of the United States and told many lies to keep them from finding out. She maintained this charade for years.
What have I learned from studying the Long Con? Here’s my observations:
Belief. If people want to believe something, they will. This is the first step to manipulation – find out what people desire and find a way to deliver it to the mark (“the mark” is the person being conned; sometimes, like with investors, there are multiple marks).
Fantasy. Humans love to believe that something improbable -- if not impossible -- can actually happen. From immortal dogs (see the Netflix series “Bad Vegan”) to elevated consciousness, or the more basic option of making money on a huge investment opportunity, convincing people that daydreams can materialize is a powerful lure.
Truth. Every Long Con, like a good lie, has just enough truth to make it plausible. The next step is making it reasonable because humans like to think we are just that (even though most of the time we are not).
Emotion. Creating a bond of emotion whether it’s fear (the con artist might be in MORTAL DANGER! if you don’t help), love (the con artist might insist the mark takes an action “if you really love me”), or friendship (“this person is my friend; they wouldn’t con me”) convinces the smartest of people to act, usually without a lot of thought.
Reputation. At a certain point, the mark might start to realize something is wrong or not making sense. However, after committing to the belief in the con, especially over a long period of time, few people will want to admit they were wrong, thus strengthening the con.
Being aware of the “too good to be true” offer is a habit we should all adopt because the Long Con, the Short Con, and any con in between, is based on the good nature that most humans have. In our own dealings with each other, let’s remember to be transparent and ethical.
