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How to run a con
- ErrantX 17y agoThe key to a con is not that you trust the conman, but that he shows he trusts you. 100% accurate. We essentially con people when doing pen testing (talking our way into buildings) and you use the exact same techniques. Make the other person feel like they are in a position of power, they are doing you a good deed, they are winning or that it is their idea. However with that said... Leil Lowndes talks a lot about WIIFM in her books (Whats In It For Me). She makes a solid point that in any interaction people look for what they can gain from it; especially so from strangers. If they have to do something there should be something in it for them. The con mentioned in the article works mostly because there is no percieved loss to the guy at the till. The conman clearly knows that the guy wont have $100 of his own on hand. If he did it probably wouldn't have worked. By increasing the focus on the WIIFM aspect ($100) by minimising the risk/loss aspect is what makes this con work so well. It's why when I walk up and flirt with a pretty receptionist she will be reasonably eager to help me out in getting into X building if I mention I will be coming back each day for the next week etc. :) (just one example) (I find this stuff amazingly interesting :D)