PP: The key psychological element in all this,

PP:

The key psychological element in all this, I'm more and more seeing, is the pain and discomfort that would accompany admitting that you've been taken by a confidence man in a confidence scheme.

Following excerpts are from WIKI:

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A confidence trick (or scheme or scam) is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their confidence, in the classical sense of trust. A confidence artist (or con artist) is an individual, operating alone or in concert with others, who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty, honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, naïveté, or greed.

The intended victims are known as "marks" or "suckers", and when accomplices are employed, they are known as shills.

Accomplices, also known as shills, help manipulate the mark into accepting the perpetrator's plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past.

Victims of investment scams tend to show an incautious level of greed and gullibility

A long or big con is a scam that unfolds over several days or weeks and involves a team of swindlers, as well as props, sets, extras, costumes, and scripted lines. It aims to rob the victim of thousands of dollars, often by getting him or her to empty out banking accounts and borrow from family members.

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