...that changes/obscures the original meaning. (Assuming PT actually said it; that quote about security and liberty is both misquoted and misattributed to Benjamin Franklin.)
PT's full quote is "There's one born every minute and two to take him.."
Most con games (as opposed to flim-flam or most bunco schemes) turn on the mark ("victim" is an inappropriate term) being just as dishonest and ready to cheat the operator or to skirt the law to make illicit profits. (And bunco schemes that involve "...they shipped too many expensive speakers/computers/whatever to the jobsite and my boss says to just sell 'em cheap and write 'em off..." are the same.)
The pigeon drop and the glass-eye dodge have been successfully used for manymany years.
Another quote, this one from W.C.Fields: "You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break and never wise up a chump."
Discussion on:
Message 6 of 1
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
