Have you had relations with this guy at any point in your life?
Con Ed
by Jeff Yang Nov 13 2008
Former grifter Todd Robbins has made a career out of the art of deception. Here are his lessons for how to avoid getting played for a sucker.
Even in the best of times, it can be hard to tell the difference between honest error and outright deception. If a company misses its quarterly earnings number by a mile, it's because of "unforeseen circumstances." When a public offering touted as a sure thing corkscrews into the ground, the analysts who pumped it up cite "poor market conditions." And when top executives of the late Lehman Brothers assured analysts that the bank's "capital situation was strong," even as they desperately sought money to avoid bankruptcy, C.E.O. Dick Fuld blamed an "extraordinary run on the bank" for giving him the lie. So how can you tell when you've gone from being mistaken to being simply taken?
Todd Robbins spent years in the company of Southern California's most successful grifters—as he puts it, "the ones who were good enough to get old instead of getting caught." Though they groomed him to play the role of "roper," the guy who identifies marks and gets them to lower their guard before delivering them to the shakedown specialists, Robbins instead chose to demystify the profession, producing a series of DVDs, books, and live shows detailing the art of the scam.
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Stan Walters, a "deception specialist" who's worked for the Department of Defense and several law-enforcement agencies, says that asking con men how to detect lies makes good sense. Over the course of his career, Walters has videotaped hundreds of interviews and shown them to people from all walks of life to evaluate; he found that prison inmates can catch more than two-thirds of the lies, compared to about half for the general populace. "No one's better at spotting deception than a criminal," says Walters.
According to Robbins, there are a few key principles to keep in mind to prevent you from falling for a line of bull.
Look Closely at Your Own Motives
The heart of any swindle, notes Robbins, is human greed. Con men play on the desire to get something for nothing—offering an unfair advantage (insider information, below-market pricing, an illicit edge) that a "mark" simply can't resist.
"Generally, if someone's trying to rip you off, he's not taking you anywhere you don't already want to go," says Robbins. "The con man shares news of an opportunity, and the mark is the one who ends up demanding to get in on it." This dynamic is often set up by a variation of the classic hard-to-get ploy where the deceiver sets up challenges for the deceived to make an offer seem more attractive. So if you've been made to jump through hoops to "qualify" for an opportunity and now find yourself chomping at the bit to do or believe something, step back and consider your motives before forging ahead.
Walters adds that you should be particularly wary of situations where someone starts by asking for a small favor or task, taking advantage of your willingness to trust them, but then gradually escalates the level of commitment.
"Each step gets you deeper into the lie, until you're all in," he says.
by Jeff Yang Nov 13 2008
Former grifter Todd Robbins has made a career out of the art of deception. Here are his lessons for how to avoid getting played for a sucker.
Even in the best of times, it can be hard to tell the difference between honest error and outright deception. If a company misses its quarterly earnings number by a mile, it's because of "unforeseen circumstances." When a public offering touted as a sure thing corkscrews into the ground, the analysts who pumped it up cite "poor market conditions." And when top executives of the late Lehman Brothers assured analysts that the bank's "capital situation was strong," even as they desperately sought money to avoid bankruptcy, C.E.O. Dick Fuld blamed an "extraordinary run on the bank" for giving him the lie. So how can you tell when you've gone from being mistaken to being simply taken?
Todd Robbins spent years in the company of Southern California's most successful grifters—as he puts it, "the ones who were good enough to get old instead of getting caught." Though they groomed him to play the role of "roper," the guy who identifies marks and gets them to lower their guard before delivering them to the shakedown specialists, Robbins instead chose to demystify the profession, producing a series of DVDs, books, and live shows detailing the art of the scam.
More Expert Witnesses
Homerun Hiring
A major-league baseball scout on why superstars suck and salaries are a distraction.
Drop and Earn Me Twenty
Tips for motivating new employees from an army drill sergeant.
Bombs Away
A bomb squad technician has clear lessons for managers dealing with today's turmoil.
Stan Walters, a "deception specialist" who's worked for the Department of Defense and several law-enforcement agencies, says that asking con men how to detect lies makes good sense. Over the course of his career, Walters has videotaped hundreds of interviews and shown them to people from all walks of life to evaluate; he found that prison inmates can catch more than two-thirds of the lies, compared to about half for the general populace. "No one's better at spotting deception than a criminal," says Walters.
According to Robbins, there are a few key principles to keep in mind to prevent you from falling for a line of bull.
Look Closely at Your Own Motives
The heart of any swindle, notes Robbins, is human greed. Con men play on the desire to get something for nothing—offering an unfair advantage (insider information, below-market pricing, an illicit edge) that a "mark" simply can't resist.
"Generally, if someone's trying to rip you off, he's not taking you anywhere you don't already want to go," says Robbins. "The con man shares news of an opportunity, and the mark is the one who ends up demanding to get in on it." This dynamic is often set up by a variation of the classic hard-to-get ploy where the deceiver sets up challenges for the deceived to make an offer seem more attractive. So if you've been made to jump through hoops to "qualify" for an opportunity and now find yourself chomping at the bit to do or believe something, step back and consider your motives before forging ahead.
Walters adds that you should be particularly wary of situations where someone starts by asking for a small favor or task, taking advantage of your willingness to trust them, but then gradually escalates the level of commitment.
"Each step gets you deeper into the lie, until you're all in," he says.