Confidence

An incredible essay from Dumb Looks Still Free:

Con Man Universe Description
A Confidence Man is an individual or group that runs a corrupt game or scheme so as to defraud those who pay into or invest in such a scheme. I will horrendously oversimplify this, as the multiplicity and complexities involved in con games, as well as types of them, are enormous. Still they all boil down to just a few major factors. In the universe of the Con Man (and associates) there are only a few classes of people outside of those actually running the thing:

1) The Plant(s) - These are individuals who may know about the scheme or game, or may only be willing to accept minor payment to take part in the game or scheme so as to make it work. Plants are the individuals who 'win' or get pay outs early on in the system. These are the individuals that give a patina of legitimacy to the scheme or game so as to entice others to take part. Plants can also be individuals who are of a later class, but so early on in the scheme or game that it 'works' for them.

2) Rubes - These are the individuals who buy into the game or scheme as 'legitimate' but have no knowledge that a game is going on. Plants can be first generation Rubes who unknowingly play the game or pay into the scheme but are in that select segment that must get a payout, of some sort, so as to keep the mollified and have the illusion of an above-board operation remain. Rubes who become Plants via this unknowing pay off of a fraudulent scheme or game in its first iteration also serve as recruiters to get more people to play the game or buy into the scheme. The more gullible Rubes there are saying that the scheme or game is legitimate, the greater the long term pay off for those running the game or scheme.

3) The Mark - The Mark are the individuals in the high profit zone for the game or scheme. Marks can be from any level of Rube-dom, but they are the ones who will buy into the scheme late enough so that they will not get their money back. Marks may be unintentional players who just want to have some 'fun' or who have a predilection to believing the scheme works due to the number of Plants and Rubes. When the game or scheme fails, these are the folks who lose the most. Once a confidence scheme is fully operational after the first level of pay outs, anyone paying in can be said to be The Mark. The Mark is the target of the swindle.

4) Those who see through the game or scheme for what it is. These are the people that the game or scheme derides, calls them 'unsophisticated' or 'stupid' or otherwise castigates them. That serves the two-fold purpose of assuring the Rubes and future Marks that they are the 'smart' ones who are going to 'make' money off of the scheme or game. The level of attacks on those who see through the game may be intense enough to convince them to become Rubes, which also makes them qualified to be Marks.

A Jacksonian then runs through some examples: Bernie Madoff, Enron, the Social Security Administration and concludes with a few more that send chills down my spine -- his view of the scope of things has broadened my horizon significantly. It's a bit of a long read but well presented and worth checking out. One to add to the blogroll (doing an upgrade in a few days).