Editing Scam (section)

==Stages==
In ''Confessions of a Confidence Man'', Edward H. Smith lists the "six definite steps or stages of growth" of a confidence game.<ref name="smith">{{cite book |first=Edward H. |last=Smith |title=Confessions of a Confidence Man: A Handbook for Suckers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cyq8QAAACAAJ |year=1923 |publisher=Scientific American Publishing |pages=35–37 |access-date=2015-11-07 |archive-date=2023-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115101905/https://books.google.com/books?id=Cyq8QAAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> He notes that some steps may be omitted. It is also possible some can be done in a different order than below, or carried out simultaneously.

;Foundation work
:Preparations are made in advance of the game, including the hiring of any assistants required and studying the background knowledge needed for the role.
;Approach
:The victim is approached or contacted.
;Build-up
:The victim is given an opportunity to profit from participating in a scheme. The victim's greed is encouraged, such that their rational judgment of the situation might be impaired.
;Pay-off or convincer
:The victim receives a small payout as a demonstration of the scheme's purported effectiveness. This may be a real amount of money or faked in some way (including physically or electronically). In a [[gambling]] con, the victim is allowed to win several small bets. In a [[stock market]] con, the victim is given fake [[dividend]]s.
;The "hurrah"
:A sudden manufactured crisis or change of events forces the victim to act or make a decision immediately. This is the point at which the con succeeds or fails. With a financial scam, the con artist may tell the victim that the "window of opportunity" to make a large investment in the scheme is about to suddenly close forever.
;The in-and-in
:A conspirator (in on the con, but assumes the role of an interested bystander) puts an amount of money into the same scheme as the victim, to add an appearance of legitimacy. This can reassure the victim, and give the con man greater control when the deal has been completed.

In addition, some games require a "[[corroboration]]" step, particularly those involving a fake, but purportedly "rare item" of "great value". This usually includes the use of an accomplice who plays the part of an uninvolved (initially skeptical) third party, who later confirms the claims made by the con man.<ref name="smith"/>

=== In a Long Con ===
Alternatively, in ''The Big Con'', David Maurer writes that all cons "progress through certain fundamental stages" and that there are ten stages for a "''big con''."<ref name=":0">{{Harvnb|Maurer|1999|loc=Ch. 1. A Word About Confidence Men}}</ref>

# Locating and investigating a well-to-do victim. (Putting the mark up.)
# Gaining the victim’s confidence. (Playing the con for him.)
# Steering him to meet the insideman. (Roping the mark.)
# Permitting the insideman to show him how he can make a large amount of money dishonestly. (Telling him the tale.)
# Allowing the victim to make a substantial profit. (Giving him the convincer.)
# Determining exactly how much he will invest. (Giving him the breakdown.)
# Sending him home for this amount of money. (Putting him on the send.)
# Playing him against a big store and fleecing him. (Taking off the touch.)
# Getting him out of the way as quietly as possible. (Blowing him off.)
# Forestalling action by the law. (Putting in the fix.)