They say you can't con an honest man, and that's key to thwarting cons; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Learn how to avoid everything from small-time scams to the Nigerian money transfer in this captivating episode with Chuck and Josh.
AI Summary
In this fascinating episode of Stuff You Should Know, Josh and Chuck dive into the shadowy world of confidence scams and the clever grifters who pull them off. From street cons like three-card monte and the classic pigeon drop to elaborate schemes involving fake royalty selling non-existent countries, they explore how con artists have been separating greedy marks from their money for centuries. The hosts break down different types of scams, share some incredible true stories (including a guy who sold the Eiffel Tower twice!), and offer practical advice on how to avoid becoming the next victim of a smooth-talking swindler.
Confidence
2003
1h 37m
★ 6.3
"Confidence. I saw that one. I didn't see that one. It was okay. — Chuck mentions seeing the con artist movie Confidence and gives it a lukewarm review."
— Chuck
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
1988
1h 50m
★ 7.1
"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is one of the great comedy con men. One of the great movies ever. — Josh highly praises this comedy con artist film as one of the great movies ever made."
— Josh
Glengarry Glen Ross
1992
1h 40m
★ 7.3
"And Glen Gary Glen Ross, which is not a con man movie. — Josh mentions this Mamet film while clarifying it's not specifically a con artist movie."
— Josh
Hot Shots!
1991
1h 25m
★ 6.6
"And remember in hot shots, they passed one another on the river and go, I loved you in Wall Street. — Chuck mentions a reference scene in Hot Shots where Martin Sheen and Charlie Sheen's characters acknowledge their real-life father-son relationship and Wall Street roles."
— Chuck
House of Games
1987
1h 42m
★ 6.8
"House of Games. David Mamet. Not seen it. Classic. — Josh mentions House of Games as a classic David Mamet con artist film."
— Josh
Paper Moon
1973
1h 42m
★ 7.9
"Like, have you seen Paper Moon? Your favorite movie. I have indeed seen that. — Josh references Paper Moon when discussing traveling con artists, noting how the characters moved from town to town as Bible salesmen."
— Josh
"Men's Stick Man. Yeah. I'd say it's slightly slicker than Confidence. — Chuck compares this con artist movie to Confidence in their discussion of the genre."
— Chuck
The Baltimore Bullet
1980
1h 43m
★ 5.6
"And then, of course, the number one Confidence movie of all time, The Baltimore Bullet. — Josh jokingly calls this the number one con artist movie, though he admits he hadn't heard of it until researching the episode."
— Josh
The Grifters
1990
1h 50m
★ 6.5
"And the awesome movie, the grifters from, uh, Stephen Frears is what I think one of the top three con man movies — Josh praises The Grifters as one of the best con artist movies while discussing terminology for con artists."
— Josh
The Hustler
1961
2h 14m
★ 7.7
"And then The Hustler, which preceded the sting. — Josh mentions The Hustler as a con artist film that came before The Sting."
— Josh
"You ever see the famous Simpsons episode with, um, oh, what was the guy's Jim Varney? — Chuck mentions a Simpsons episode featuring Jim Varney as a carny to illustrate why people don't trust carneys."
— Chuck
The Sting
1973
2h 9m
★ 8.0
"The staying classic. I've not seen it. — Josh mentions The Sting as a classic con artist movie when listing movies in the genre."
— Josh
Wall Street
1987
2h 6m
★ 7.2
"it reminds me of the movie Wall Street. Charlie Sheen got swept up in that greed — Chuck uses the movie as an example of how greed can lead people to make poor decisions, similar to how con artists exploit greed."
— Chuck
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