At this point, few SHOULD fall victim to various cons and schemes, but unfortunately, many still do. I can't believe so many people still do fall victim to the various scams abound, but as stated in the thread title, greed and emotions leave people vulnerable. If it is too good to be true, it almost always is but some just are completely oblivious or think that since there is a slight hope they may gain love or riches, it is worth taking the chance.
The perpetrator of a confidence trick (or "con trick") is often referred to as a confidence (or "con") man, con-artist, or a "grifter". Samuel Thompson (1821–1856) was the original "confidence man". Thompson was a clumsy swindler who asked his victims to express confidence in him by giving him money or their watch rather than gaining their confidence in a more nuanced way. A few people trusted Thompson with their money and watches. Thompson was arrested in July 1849. Reporting about this arrest, Dr. James Houston, a reporter of the New York Herald, publicized Thompson by naming him the "Confidence Man".Although Thompson was an unsuccessful scammer, he gained reputation as a genius operator mostly because Houston's satirical writing wasn't understood as such. The National Police Gazette coined the term "confidence game" a few weeks after Houston first used the name "confidence man".
A confidence trick is also known as a con game, a con, a scam, a grift, a hustle, a bunko (or bunco), a swindle, a flimflam, a gaffle, or a bamboozle. The intended victims are known as marks, suckers, stooges, mugus, rubes, or gulls (from the word gullible). When accomplices are employed, they are known as shills.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick
