There have always been fakes and frauds throughout history – people who trick us into believing them. But these four confidence tricksters were exceptional. Gregor MacGregor tricked hundreds of people into buying land and sailing to Poyais, his invented ‘paradise island’. Frank Abagnale Jr made over $2,5 million pretending to be a pilot, doctor, lawyer and professor. Anna Sorokin funded a lavish lifestyle using borrowed money and fake documents. Elizabeth Holmes became rich by claiming to have created a unique medical device. After reading these stories – be careful who you trust!
In this day and age, with deep fakes, digital cons, and lying politicians, discerning the truth from a lie is becoming increasingly difficult.
However, pulling the wool over people’s eyes is nothing new, and in Fakes and Frauds you’ll find out fibbing is as old as civilisation itself.
And while there is nothing clever about telling a lie, there is certainly something rather amusing at looking back on some of the greatest cons ever pulled, from the man who sold a country that never existed, to the boy genius who faked being a pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer, to tech geniuses without a genuine bone in their body.
Hopefully though, when you’ve finished laughing at the misfortune of others, you’ll also have learnt to avoid some classic cons, too.