“Scam” is an unpleasant word, especially for those who have become its victim. Unfortunately, every day there are more and more people wishing to cash in on someone else’s grief. Although, if you think about it, then in the old days there were no less swindlers. Just few people knew about them, because such cases were covered in a veil of secrecy.
Therefore, let us not only understand what the meaning of the word "scam" is, but also consider the most striking examples. And believe them, a huge amount has gathered in the entire history of mankind.
What is a scam?
So, the dictionary makes it clear to us that a scam is a dubious deal aimed at enriching one of the parties. The sad thing is that only the author, so to speak, will get the benefit, but the victim will remain with his nose. Simply put, a scam is a criminal scheme designed to lure money from other people.
Naturally, such activities are considered illegal. And therefore, in almost all countries of the world, a prison term is imposed for its use. However, such a prospect rarely stops lovers of making money on someone else's trust.
The story of a long-standing scam
At the beginning of the XVIII century, the daughter of a simple English shoemaker named Mary Baker played a scam that many modern scammers would envy. The girl was so bored with the life of an ordinary servant that she decided to turn into a princess from a distant country.
Dressed in oriental clothes, she entered the gates of her hometown at night. For conspiracy, Mary spoke Portuguese, mixing it with fictitious words. The swindler turned out to be a noble inventor. So, the girl said that she was the princess of the country of Karabu. On the way to England, pirates attacked the ship, and she herself was thrown overboard.
The locals were imbued with her story, which allowed Miss Baker to live at their expense, like a real princess. However, her holiday did not last long. After a couple of months, the former mistress noticed the fraudster, who revealed the true identity of Mary.
Modern swindlers
Despite the fact that Mary’s actions were illegal, they can’t be called fatal to the people. After all, in fact, in those days people were already used to feeding the monarchs with their own hands, and the fact that there were more of them did not greatly affect general well-being.
But a modern scam is a completely different matter. Today, scammers strive to take everything to the last, without paying the slightest attention to who their victim is - a wealthy businessman or a single mother who can barely make ends meet. At the same time, their creativity can only be envied. Every day they come up with more and more new schemes, allowing to deceive both gullible people and those who are used to be skeptical of everything.
Moreover, for some scammers, a scam is an art. For example, a certain Victor Lustig lived in France . He always wanted to become famous all over the world, but, since he knew how to only deceive people, he decided to earn a name for himself on this. The amazing thing is that he did it - he managed to sell some simpleton to nothing other than ... the Eiffel Tower. But what is most striking is that he repeated this trick twice!
However, such stories are more rare than regularity. Often, swindlers do not act on such a scale and sublime. Most of them are involved in looting apartments from old people, blackmailing people, selling non-existent goods or forging documents. Fortunately, many of them are waiting for only one thing - several years spent in a cell behind bars.