A confidence trick (synonyms include confidence game, confidence scheme, scam and stratagem) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, used in the classical sense of trust. Confidence tricks exploit characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty, honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, naïveté and greed.
The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". The first known usage of the term "confidence man" in English was in 1849 by the New York City press, during the trial of William Thompson. Thompson chatted with strangers until he asked if they had the confidence to lend him their watches, whereupon he would walk off with the watch. He was captured when a victim recognized him on the street.
A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as "marks", "suckers", or "gulls" (i.e. gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills.
A scam or confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence.
Scam may also refer to:
Scam is a 1993 television film adaptation of crime drama novel by Craig Smith named Ladystinger. It originally aired on Showtime in May 1993.
Maggie Rohrer (Lorraine Bracco) is a seductive con-artist scamming the rich in Miami Beach. When she picks the wrong mark, Jack Shanks (Christopher Walken), he blackmails her into working with him on the ultimate scam in Jamaica. He wants to use her talents in a much bigger scam: ripping off a crime lord by getting at his programmer's computer files. But she starts to have doubts about what he's really after when she finds a huge stash of loot with the disks. He claims no knowledge of the money, she distrusts him, he's using her, things start getting dangerous and even murderous - and then her boyfriend shows up. When the scam turns deadly, murder and double-cross become the only way to finish their dangerous game.
It is unknown if CBS Home Entertainment will release the film onto DVD or Blu-ray.
John Flynn says he was offered the film by Showtime on the basis of his work for them on Nails (1992). The movie was shot in Jamaica. Flynn:
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes. They are usually worn on the face, although they may also be positioned for effect elsewhere on the wearer's body. In parts of Australia, giant totem masks cover the body, whilst Inuit women use finger masks during storytelling and dancing.
The word "mask" appeared in English in the 1530s, from Middle French masque "covering to hide or guard the face", derived in turn from Italian maschera, from Medieval Latin masca "mask, specter, nightmare". This word is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Arabic maskharah مَسْخَرَۃٌ "buffoon", from the verb sakhira "to ridicule". However, it may also come from Provençal mascarar "to black (the face)" (or the related Catalan mascarar, Old French mascurer). This in turn is of uncertain origin — perhaps from a Germanic source akin to English "mesh", but perhaps from mask- "black", a borrowing from a pre-Indo-European language. One German author claims the word "mask" is originally derived from the Spanish más que la cara (literally, "more than the face" or "added face"), which evolved to "máscara", while the Arabic "maskharat" - referring to the buffoonery which is possible only by disguising the face - would be based on these Spanish roots. Other related forms are Hebrew masecha= "mask"; Arabic maskhara مَسْخَرَ = "he ridiculed, he mocked", masakha مَسَخَ = "he transfomed" (transitive).
"Masked" is the 7th episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 7th episode overall. It was aired on October 27, 2011. The episode was written by Michelle Lovretta and it was directed by Charles Beeson.
Cassie (Britt Robertson) is throwing a party for the upcoming Halloween while her grandmother, Jane (Ashley Crow) is leaving to go to Henry's (Tom Butler) place, Faye's (Phoebe Tonkin) grandfather. She didn't hear from him for weeks and she is worried.
Cassie and Faye are bying some decorations for the party from an old antique store and when the owner, Calvin (Hiro Kanagawa), sees Cassie's last name asks if she is related to Amelia Blake. Cassie finds out later from Jane that Calvin is also a witch but from another Circle. Before leave the store, Faye convinces Cassie to invite Luke (Zachary Abel) to the party as her date.
Later at Cassie's house, while making the set up for the party, Cassie finds a piece of the knife the witch had attacked her with in the previous episode. There are some strange symbols on it but they don't know what they mean, so Cassie decides to go back to the antique store to ask Calvin about them. On her way there, she meets Jake (Chris Zylka) outside her home and tells him about the knife. Jake immediately leaves to go to the store before Cassie and warns Calvin by threatening him, to not answer any questions Cassie will ask him.
Masked is a 1920 American short Western film directed by Mack V. Wright and featuring Hoot Gibson.