Week of 02/11/2019

The Heart of a Con
– by David Matthews 2

The biggest question asked when it comes to “confidence men” or con-artists is how they’re able to convince so many people to give them money.  Of course, it doesn’t have to be money.  It could be support.  It could be adoration.  It could be anything they want.

So, without naming any names, I’m going to give you the secret of how they’re able to do what they do.  How they’re able to take your money, your support, your adoration, whatever it is that they want, how they are able to get it from you willingly.

Bear in mind that I’m not going to be giving any confidential tricks of the trade here, because there are none.  There is no magic in how they do what they do.  This is something that this commentator has seen and experienced as well.  I’m certainly not immune to being fooled and manipulated.  It has happened to me.  Even when I tell myself that I wouldn’t be fooled again, I am.  I acknowledge this, and I hope you can as well.

The great secret of a con-artist, the mystery tool they need to get whatever they want, is this...

They tell a story.

That’s it.  That’s all that they do.  They tell a story.

Of course, it’s not just any kind of story.

They tell a story that you want to hear.

If you’re in a meeting place entitled “Secrets to Success” or “Wealth-Building Management” or “Financial Security Made Easy”, then the con-artist already knows what kind of story that you’re looking to hear.  You’re already thinking that there is some sort of secret to making money.  Some sort of hidden trick for you to be financially secure that just has to be out there.  You already believe this.  So you’re looking for someone to tell you that they know this secret, this hidden trick, that will turn your modest nest-egg into a fully-funded retirement plan, or a college plan, or whatever it is that you’re looking to do with the money that you have.  You believe that it is there, or else you wouldn’t be in that kind of meeting place. 

So the con-artist just has to tell you a story.  They just have to tell you a story that you want to hear.  And if you like what they tell you, you will willingly give that person your money, your trust, and your support.

The catfish con-artist tells the sad and lonely person a story that they want to hear.  I know this from experience.  They tell that person that there is someone for them, that they have feelings for that person, that they want to be with that person but, for whatever reason, they just can’t be together in person.  That’s all that it takes.  It just takes them telling a story that their target wants to hear.  Because we all think that there’s someone for us, right?  And the catfish con-artist doesn’t have to take a person’s money.  They can just take that person’s heart.

Religion... oh, where do I even begin with this?  Sufficient to say even so-called “legitimate” religious beliefs operate on telling a whole bunch of stories that you want to hear.  That’s why you keep coming back to them.  How does a cult leader bring people in?  They tell a story that the fleeced want to hear.  This is why churches are the best places for financial con-artists to work from, because they’re dealing with people already wanting to hear a good story.

Politics... again, I’m not going to name names, but we all know that “certain person” that managed to secure the biggest job in America a couple of years ago by doing what he’s always been doing... telling a story that certain people desperately wanted – even conditioned – to hear.  That’s how he got to where he is today.  Not by magic or deals with the devil.  He told a story.  A story that a certain percentage of the populace were desperate to hear.  And because they liked what he told them, they will virulently and even sometimes violently defend him, even when his story turns out to be a lie.

That’s an important part of this whole thing... the story does not have to be true for you to believe in them.  It just has to be something that you want to hear.  We want to believe that there is a “secret” to success.  We want to believe that there is that certain someone just waiting for us.  We want to believe there’s an answer to why we’re here and why we’re going through things.  We want to believe there is someone that will fix the screwed-up political system for us.  All the con-artist has to do is to tell you a story.  A story that says this thing that you want to believe exists, that it is real, and that you can have it through them.  All you have to do is give them your trust, your faith, your fidelity, your money, or all of the above.

Let’s get brutally honest here... the biggest tool that the con-artists has... is us!  We’re the suckers that believe the story.  We’re the ones who buy into what they’re selling, often without asking whether or not it’s for real.  It’s our gullibility that gives them what they truly want.

And when asked, when cornered, that’s exactly what the con artist will tell you.  In their minds, you’re the fool.  It’s your fault.  You should have known better.  How many times have we been told “if it’s too good to be true, it usually is”?  But we still do it, don’t we?  Why?  Because we still believe that there is that “better way” that we deserve, even after we’ve been screwed over. 

The only way we can stop a con artist is to wise ourselves up and recognize when we’re being played.  And it doesn’t matter if it’s about money, love, faith, or politics... we will always be susceptible to their manipulations if we do not use our eyes and ears and our brains.  Our gullibility and failure to look past our wants and needs is always at the heart of any con-job.