63
mâché heads in their beds to
convince the guards that they were
sleeping instead of digging their
way out of the island prison.
In most cases, it is an individual
or an organization that is fooled,
but hundreds were taken in by art
forger Elmyr de Hory’s remarkable
paintings – he sold more than
a thousand works by “Picasso”,
“Matisse”, and “Modigliani” to
collectors and galleries worldwide.
Master forger Konrad Kujau also
managed to fool most of the world
with the Hitler Diaries. Historians
proclaimed their authenticity,
newspapers ran extracts, and
publishing companies vied for
the rights. Often, those who fall for
such hoaxes are reluctant to believe
they have been duped. The
publishers of the extracts from the
Hitler Diaries and the HowardHughes biography continued to
stand by their scoops long after
everyone else realized they had
been scammed. And many
individuals, after realizing that they
have been deceived, are reluctant
to contact the authorities, for fear
of being ridiculed. Victor Lustig
banked on this in his audacious
sale of the Eiffel Tower; it worked
because he successfully predicted
his victim’s embarrassment at
being duped.Underlying psychology
What con artists have in common
is the power of persuasion. The
most successful perpetrators
share three personality traits –
psychopathy, narcissism, and
Machiavellianism – which allow
them to carry out their crimes
without feeling remorse or guilt.However, making a profit is not
always their goal. According to
psychologists, con artists simply
gain great satisfaction from pulling
off their scams, regardless of the
amount of money they make.
Many con artists use disguises
as part of their modus operandi,
which makes it difficult for law
enforcement agencies to catch
them, especially before the aid of
digital technology. Police may
also hesitate to go after culprits,
because in some jurisdictions,
stealing property is considered a
civil issue rather than a crime. In
addition, police are generally more
concerned with catching violent
criminals and terrorists than
apprehending grifters. The crimes
of the grifter can be difficult to
prove, and the perpetrators are
less likely to be prosecuted. ■CON ARTISTS
1964
1962
1978
1972 1984
In Germany, forger Konrad
Kujau fools the world into
believing documents penned
by him are actually
Hitler’s diaries.Clifford Irving falsely claims
that Howard Hughes has
asked him to write his
biography, and tricks
publishing executives into
giving him a large advance.In the US, three
prisoners trick guards
and pull off one of the
most famous jailbreaks
in history—the escape
from Alcatraz.Master impostor Frank
Abagnale impersonates
a pilot to travel the world
and enjoy a lavish lifestyle.In the Fine Cotton
horseracing scandal in
Australia, a crime
syndicate substitutes
a champion horse
for a novice.062-063_Timeline_2.indd 63 13/01/2017 15:09