A scam is what? Scams of the past

"Afer" - a word unpleasant, especially for those who became its victim. Unfortunately, every day wishing to cash in on another's grief becomes more and more. Although, if you think about it, then in the old days, scammers were no less. Just about them very few people knew, because such cases were covered with a veil of secrecy.

So let's not only figure out what the meaning of the word "scam" is, but we'll also look at the most vivid examples. And there are a lot of them in the history of mankind, believe me.

What is a scam?

So, the dictionary makes it clear to us that a scam is a dubious transaction aimed at enriching one of the parties. It is sad that only the author, so to speak, will 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 illegal. Therefore, in practically all countries of the world, a prison term is required for its application. However, those who like to make money on someone else's trust rarely stop this prospect.

The story of an old scam

At the beginning of the 18th century, the daughter of a simple English shoemaker named Mary Baker played a scam, which many modern scammers could envy. The girl was so bored with the life of an ordinary maid that she decided to become a princess from a distant country.

Dressed in oriental clothes, she entered the gates of her native city at night. For conspiracy, Mary spoke in Portuguese, mixing it with fictional words. The swindler turned out to be a noble dreamer. So, the girl told that she was the princess of the country of Karabu. On the way to England, pirates attacked the ship, and she was thrown overboard.

Local residents are imbued with its history, 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 fraudster noticed the former mistress, who revealed Mary's true identity.

Modern scams

Despite the fact that Mary's actions were illegal, yet they can not be called destructive for the people. After all, in fact, in those days people were already accustomed to feeding monarchs with their own hands, and the fact that one was more did not have a big impact on overall well-being.

But the modern scam is a completely different matter. Today scammers are trying to take everything to the last, not paying the slightest attention to who their victim is - a wealthy businessman or single mother who hardly makes ends meet. At the same time, their creativity can only be envied. Every day they come up with more and more new schemes that allow deceiving both gullible people and those who are used to being skeptical about everything.

Moreover, for some scammers, scam is an art. For example, in France there lived a certain Victor Lustig. He always wanted to become famous all over the world, but, since he knew how to deceive people, he decided to make a name for himself. It's amazing that he did it - he managed to sell to some simpleton nothing more than ... Eiffel Tower. But the most striking thing is that he repeated this trick twice!

However, such stories are rather rare than regularity. Often, scams act not so large and sublime. Most of them are engaged in luring apartments from old people, blackmailing people, selling non-existent goods or forging documents. Fortunately, many of them are waiting for only one - several years spent in the cell behind bars.