Professional Swindlers
Sometimes it is not easy to win on one’s merits, so many smarties turn to scamming. Though it’s been said the meek will inherit the earth, for this to happen the generations of backstabbing capitalist oppressor foxes will have to die. Without death there is no inheritance. The “best” of these swindlers create such perfect swindles we may never even realize we’ve been had. Luckily many times the “Professional” swindlers are discovered, especially if they repeat the strategy or let down their guard. Consider some cases:
Victor Lustig:
The most famous and ingenious con man of the century, he is known for selling the Eiffel tower twice. He invested all his ingenuity in making scams as simple, efficient and effective as possible. Victor bought a nice suit with his first savings and embarked on a luxury cruise, surrounded by the elite of the time, and let wealthy passenger in on a deal. He had a machine that made hundred-dollar bills; the only drawback was that it took about 6 hours to print the famous greenbacks. He sold these money making machines fitted with two one hundred dollar bills, and greedy victims bough them for thousands.
Lustig had 12 hours to flee, the time it took for two bills it had to come out. His most famous scam was selling the Eiffel Tower twice! How? For scrap metal! He managed to convince the buyers he was just another corrupt French bureaucrat, and made of with nearly a million dollars. The victim was obviously too embarrassed to go to the police.
Milli Vanilli:
Who can forget the two spunky b-boys? They danced through the world and fans swooned over their sculpted bodies and wonderful voices. But they were more false than three euro coins. Until one day the average Joe singers behind the music revealed that they were the authentic Milli Vanilli, and everything fell to ruin….
Bernard Madoff
The crook of crooks created, managed and ran what became the largest Ponzi scheme in history, paying its early customers with the money of others who had not yet claimed their money. It was introduced in the New York Stock Exchange, providing a gain of 8% per annum for 72 months. He is now in jail and is facing a fraud conviction for having scammed people out of 18 billion dollars.
Not all crooks are small timers; in fact the most successful scammers are out there in Ferraris and private jets. I recommend you watch “Catch Me If You Can” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. Anyway, never think you´re going to be duped but do be careful. Rent apartments in Venice and enjoy your stay.
?
