Legal Definitions - con game

Definition: A con game, also known as a confidence game, is a way of tricking someone into giving you money or property by intentionally lying to gain their trust. The person running the con will misrepresent facts to make the victim believe that they are trustworthy, and then convince them to transfer their money or property to them. This is also known as a con or a bunco.

Examples:

• A person calls and claims to be from the victim's bank, saying that there has been suspicious activity on their account. They ask for the victim's account information to "verify" their identity, and then use that information to steal money from the account.
• A person approaches the victim on the street and offers to sell them a "valuable" item for a low price. The item is actually worthless, but the con artist convinces the victim that it is a great deal and takes their money.

These examples illustrate how a con game works by using deception to gain the victim's trust and then taking advantage of that trust to steal their money or property.