The con man's been conning con men since before your grandma was born.
There are essentially five cons that are the basis for every swindle since the dawn of man; today's Nigerian email scam is nothing more than a derivation of a Spanish conquistador's bait-and-switch con that started more than 600 years ago. In Scammed, Paul Wilson, dubbed the "World's Greatest Con Man," and his team take a detailed look inside the complicated schemes and micro-cons that have plagued unsuspecting people for hundreds, even thousands of years, showing how many of these scams not only survived but evolved to be brutally effective with the help of modern technology. In each episode, Paul plays out long cons on designated marks so that he can help expose the cons, hustles and schemes that have victimized so many people, while teaching others how to avoid them.
Direction
Cohen lets Wilson's cons unfold like heist films.
Editing
Tight reveals that make you the mark, then the expert.
Practical Effects
Real marks, real money, real sweat—no dramatizations needed.
Director
Peter M. Cohen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
R. Paul Wilson consulted on BBC's 'The Real Hustle' for years before this film, refining cons on camera that he'd perfected in private demonstrations for law enforcement.
The 'Spanish Prisoner' template shown here directly inspired David Mamet's 1997 film of the same name—essentially this documentary's fictional evil twin.
US
