Confidence Trick

A confidence trick, more commonly called a scam or con, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust, exploiting a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility or greed. Researchers describe confidence tricks as a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct that outwardly resembles a voluntary exchange but is not mutually beneficial, instead benefiting the perpetrator, commonly called a confidence man, con man or con artist, at the expense of the victim, commonly called the mark; an accomplice who helps run the scheme is called a shill.