Monella
Throughout history, there have been some unbelievable cons that have taken place. Some daring and other ingenious, and pretty much all of them 100% illegal. Scams make great films and Netflix dramas, and they also make great stories to share with your friends. Learn more about some of the biggest ones that seemed impossible but really did happen. We have four of the greatest stories you will ever read about, right here.
#1: Brooklyn Bridge for sale…
Just after the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge, a group of con artists and some city Mayors set up a scam to sell the Brooklyn bridge for a few hundred dollars (a lot of money back in 1883). In fact, there have been many public figures to sell the bridge and end up behind bars because of their daring scam. And it even coined the famous phrase “if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you”.
#2: The casino and the contact lenses
This is the story of three French men and one Italian that executed an ingenious scheme to take a Cannes casino the cleaners. Unfortunately, their greed was their downfall as their subsequent attempts to scam the casino saw them get found out.
The three French men would mark the back of cards using invisible ink to the naked eye. But the Italian gambler would come along wearing a special type of contact lenses that could see the invisible ink and would be able to know how valuable the card was. The group won tens of thousands by using this scam before being caught out.
This is just one of many casino scams over the years. If you liked this, you should also check out the Roselli brothers and the MIT Blackjack Team.
#3: The Baker estate claimants
Have you heard of the wealthy Jacob Baker once living in Philadelphia? Nobody else had either…
This con was set up as a claim for a wealthy estate with no heir after Jacob Baker died. People across the USA with the name Baker (highly common) could make a claim for all the money for a small fee. However, the scammers collected all the money with no real Jacob Baker ever existed. It was smart to pick such a familiar name to target more Americans.
#4: The War Dogs scam
If you’ve seen the film War Dogs, you might be surprised to hear that the film was based on a real story and a real scam that took place. Two men operating as weapon dealers won a contract with the US Government to supply them with $300 million worth of ammunition. But the pair decided to head to China instead and buy knock-off ammo at a lower price and keep the rest of the money. If you haven’t seen the film yet and like Jonah Hill, you might want to watch it for yourself.
