common con tricks

[Angrboda]

In using there are always two.
The manipulator dances with a partner who cons herself.
There are lies that glow so brightly we consent
to give a finger and then an arm
to let them burn.



— Marge Piercy, , excerpt

(As an aside, this is the essence of the con, or "confidence game," to manipulate the mark's confidence levels so that they end up deceiving themselves. Always, there is the potential for gain in the eyes of the mark,
and it is that perception of the opportunity for gain that leads the mark to his doom. Without the greed of the mark, most cons are powerless. [Although, having written this, cognitive biases like the endowment effect
also play important roles.])