Victor Lustig: Master Confidence Man

11 Pages 2854 Words

y he wanted the property. When Victor went to pay for the property (in bonds) he asked if the bank would also exchange $10,000 in bonds for cash. The bank was more than happy to do this favor for their new friend. At some point during the exchange, Victor switched envelops and disappeared with both the money and the bonds (a similar con was shown in the film The Sting). Although most con-men would take the money and run Victor Lustig did not.
Lustig made no attempt whatsoever to hide or run from the private investigators that the bankers had hired to find him, instead he just allowed himself to be captured. What happened next demonstrates how well Victor can manipulate others when performing a confidence trick and how much confidence he has in his own abilities. While being escorted back to Missouri by the private investigators, Lustig persuaded them to not only let him go, but also to give him $1,000 for his inconvenience. Victor convinced the investigators that if they went through with his arrest somehow that would result in the collapse of the entire bank and their eventual demise. Lustig was such an amazing confidence man because of his ability to think quickly and persuade others by using their vulnerabilities.
Another confidence trick that Lustig accomplished is a rather familiar one. In fact, it was featured in the movie, The Sting. Similar to all of Lustig’s confidence tricks, he carefully picked out his mark and gained his trust. He chose a banker in Montreal and staged a fake mugging so he could later return the man’s “stolen” wallet. As expected the man was very grateful to Victor and saw no reason not to trust him. Therefore, when Victor proposed his infallible scheme to his mark he quickly accepted. Victor explained in great detail how he had an inside source that was able to inform them of the horse race results before the betting windows were closed. This would allow the pair to place bets without ever havin...