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<title>Shell game</title>

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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell game</span></span>

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</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="Shell_game_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Shell game (disambiguation)">Shell game (disambiguation)</a>.</div>

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<p>The <b>shell game</b> (also known as <b>thimblerig</b>, <b>three shells and a pea</b>, <b>the old army game</b>) is a public <a href="Gambling" title="Gambling">gambling</a> game that challenges players to follow the movement of a marker hidden under one of several covers (shells). In practice, the game is almost always run as a <a href="Confidence_trick" class="mw-redirect" title="Confidence trick">confidence trick</a> that uses <a href="Sleight_of_hand" title="Sleight of hand">sleight of hand</a> to transfer the marker between covers. In confidence trick slang, this swindle is referred to as a <i>short-con</i> because it is quick and easy to pull off.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The shell game is related to the <a href="Cups_and_balls" title="Cups and balls">cups and balls</a> conjuring trick, which is performed purely for entertainment purposes without any purported gambling element.

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<p>In the shell game, three or more identical containers (which may be cups, shells, bottle caps, or anything else) are placed face-down on a surface. A small ball is placed beneath one of these containers so that it cannot be seen, and they are then shuffled by the operator in plain view. One or more players are invited to bet on which container holds the ball – typically, the operator offers to double the player's stake if they guess right. Where the game is played honestly, the operator can win if he shuffles the containers in a way which the player cannot follow.<sup id="cite_ref-Quinn1892_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Quinn1892-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>In practice, however, the shell game is notorious for its use by confidence tricksters who will typically rig the game using <a href="Sleight_of_hand" title="Sleight of hand">sleight of hand</a> to move or hide the ball during play and replace it as required. Fraudulent shell games are also known for the use of psychological tricks to convince potential players of the legitimacy of the game – for example, by using <a href="Shill" title="Shill">shills</a> or by allowing a player to win a few times before beginning the scam.<sup id="cite_ref-Benson2009_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Benson2009-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2></div>

<p>The shell game dates back at least to <a href="Ancient_Greece" title="Ancient Greece">Ancient Greece</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It can be seen in several paintings of the European <a href="Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a>. Later, <a href="Walnut" title="Walnut">walnut</a> shells were used, and today the use of bottle caps or matchboxes is common. The game has also been called "thimblerig" as it could be played using sewing thimbles. The first recorded use of the term "thimblerig" is in 1826.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>The swindle became very popular throughout the nineteenth century, and games were often set up in or around traveling fairs. A thimblerig team (comprising operator and confederates) was depicted in <a href="William_Powell_Frith" title="William Powell Frith">William Powell Frith</a>'s 1858 painting, <i><a href="The_Derby_Day" title="The Derby Day">The Derby Day</a></i>. In Frith's 1888 <i>My Autobiography and Reminiscences</i>,<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the painter-turned-memoirist leaves an account of his encounter with a thimble-rig team (operator and accomplices):

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<p>My first visit to Epsom was in the May of 1856 – Blink Bonnie's year. My first Derby had no interest for me as a race, but as giving me the opportunity of studying life and character it is ever to be gratefully remembered. Gambling-tents and thimble-rigging, prick in the garter and the three-card trick, had not then been stopped by the police. So convinced was I that I could find the pea under the thimble that I was on the point of backing my guess rather heavily, when I was stopped by <a href="Augustus_Egg" class="mw-redirect" title="Augustus Egg">Augustus Egg</a>, whose interference was resented by a clerical-looking personage, in language much opposed to what would have been anticipated from one of his cloth.<br>

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"You," said Egg, addressing the divine, "you are a confederate, you know; my friend is not to be taken in."<br>

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"Look here," said the clergyman, "don't you call names, and don't call me names, or I shall knock your d –– d head off."<br>

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"Will you?" said Egg, his courage rising as he saw two policemen approaching. "Then I call the lot of you – the Quaker there, no more a Quaker than I am, and that fellow that thinks he looks like a farmer – you are a parcel of thieves!"<br>

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"So they are, sir," said a meek-looking lad who joined us; "they have cleaned me out."<br>

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"Now move off; clear out of this!" said the police; and the gang walked away, the clergyman turning and extending his arms in the act of blessing me and Egg.

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<p>Fear of jail and the need to find new "flats" (victims) kept these "sharps" (shell men or "operators") traveling from one town to the next, never staying in one place very long. One of the most infamous confidence men of the nineteenth century, <a href="Soapy_Smith" title="Soapy Smith">Jefferson Randolph Smith</a>, known as Soapy Smith, led organized gangs of shell men throughout the mid-western United States, and later in <a href="Alaska" title="Alaska">Alaska</a>.

</p><p>Today, the game is still being played for money in many major cities around the world, usually at locations with a high tourist concentration (for example: <a href="La_Rambla%2C_Barcelona" title="La Rambla, Barcelona">La Rambla</a><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> in <a href="Barcelona" title="Barcelona">Barcelona</a>, <a href="Gran_V%C3%ADa_(Madrid)" class="mw-redirect" title="Gran Vía (Madrid)">Gran Via</a> in <a href="Madrid" title="Madrid">Madrid</a>, <a href="Westminster_Bridge" title="Westminster Bridge">Westminster Bridge</a> in <a href="London" title="London">London</a>, <a href="Kurf%C3%BCrstendamm" title="Kurfürstendamm">Kurfürstendamm</a> in <a href="Berlin" title="Berlin">Berlin</a>, <a href="Bahnhofsviertel" title="Bahnhofsviertel">Bahnhofsviertel</a> in <a href="Frankfurt_am_Main" class="mw-redirect" title="Frankfurt am Main">Frankfurt am Main</a> and public spaces in <a href="Paris" title="Paris">Paris</a>, <a href="Buenos_Aires" title="Buenos Aires">Buenos Aires</a>, <a href="Benidorm" title="Benidorm">Benidorm</a>, <a href="New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City</a>, <a href="Chicago" title="Chicago">Chicago</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <a href="Los_Angeles" title="Los Angeles">Los Angeles</a>). The swindle is classified as a <a href="Confidence_trick" class="mw-redirect" title="Confidence trick">confidence trick</a> game, and illegal to play for money in most countries.

</p><p>The game also inspired a <a href="List_of_The_Price_Is_Right_pricing_games#Shell_Game" title="List of The Price Is Right pricing games">pricing game</a> on the game show <i><a href="The_Price_Is_Right_(U.S._game_show)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Price Is Right (U.S. game show)">The Price Is Right</a></i>, in which contestants attempt to win a larger prize by pricing smaller prizes to earn attempts at finding a ball hidden under one of four shells designed to resemble walnut shells. While the ball is not shown during the game, and the host shuffles the shells before the start of the game, contestants can win by either winning all four attempts or winning enough attempts (via big "chips" to mark the shells), and picking the one that has the ball. The shuffling is only allowed before the pricing part of the game begins, and once the first small prize is announced, no further shuffling is permitted. Federal game show regulations are designed to ensure the game is legally a game that can be won.

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<ul><li><a href="Get-rich-quick_scheme" title="Get-rich-quick scheme">Get-rich-quick scheme</a></li>

<li><a href="Three-card_monte" title="Three-card monte">Three-card monte</a></li>

<li><a href="Cups_and_balls" title="Cups and balls">Cups and balls</a> routine</li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Bibliography">Bibliography</h2></div>

<ul><li>Bishop, Glen, <i>The Shellgame – For Tableside Tricksters</i>, 2000 </li>

<li>Price, Paul, <i>The Real Work: Essential Sleight Of Hand For Street Operators</i>, 2001 </li>

<li><a href="Whit_Haydn" title="Whit Haydn">Whit Haydn</a> and Chef Anton, <i>Notes on Three-card Monte</i> </li>

<li>Perry, Richard <i>Hull Elections</i> </li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2></div>

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</style><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nypost.com/2014/12/26/three-card-monte-scam-artists-return-to-midtown">"Three-card monte scam artists return to midtown, Is this Christmas 2014 – or 1974?"</a>. <a href="New_York_Post" title="New York Post">New York Post</a>. 26 December 2014.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-Quinn1892-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Quinn1892_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFJohn_Philip_Quinn1892" class="citation book cs1">John Philip Quinn (1892). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=zlhOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA7"><i>Fools of Fortune: Or, Gambling and Gamblers, Comprehending a History of the Vice in Ancient and Modern Times, and in Both Hemispheres; an Exposition of Its Alarming Prevalence and Destructive Effects; with an Unreserved and Exhaustive Disclosure of Such Frauds, Tricks and Devices as are Practiced by "Professional" Gamblers, "Confidence Men" and "Bunko Steerers."</i></a>. Anti-Gambling Association. pp. <span class="nowrap">348–</span>350<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 July</span> 2019</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-Benson2009-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Benson2009_3-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFMichael_Benson2009" class="citation book cs1">Michael Benson (2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=B1mkWm6kRrUC&pg=PA7"><i>Cons and Frauds</i></a>. Infobase Publishing. pp. <span class="nowrap">21–</span>22. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-1-4381-1659-4</bdi><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 July</span> 2019</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"Shell Game." Encyclopædia Britannica. <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/539702/shell-game">http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/539702/shell-game</a></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thimblerig">"Definition of THIMBLERIG"</a>. <i>www.merriam-webster.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">12 April</span> 2023</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFFrith2012" class="citation book cs1">Frith, William Powell (2012) [1887]. <i>My Autobiography and Reminiscences</i>. Cambridge University Press. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781139343923">10.1017/CBO9781139343923</a>. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>9781139343923</bdi>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"The Rambla of the Thimbleriggers." Baquero, Camilo S. Translated from the Spanish by Summer Fingersmith. El País. <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.robbedinbarcelona.com/2011/04/23/the-rambla-of-the-thimbleriggers/">http://www.robbedinbarcelona.com/2011/04/23/the-rambla-of-the-thimbleriggers/</a></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFshare2012" class="citation web cs1">share (27 November 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/13w1fk/i_saw_a_fascinating_scam_on_the_red_line_today/">"I saw a fascinating scam on the Red Line today. You should probably not play this game (unless you are the first) : chicago"</a>. Reddit.com<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2 January</span> 2017</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

</ol></div></div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>

<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/question590.htm">How do big city shell games work?</a>. How Stuff Works</li></ul>

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</style><div id="Scams_and_confidence_tricks162" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Scams and confidence tricks</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Terminology</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<li><a href="Error_account" title="Error account">Error account</a></li>

<li><a href="Shill" title="Shill">Shill</a></li>

<li><a href="Shyster" title="Shyster">Shyster</a></li>

<li><a href="Sucker_list" title="Sucker list">Sucker list</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Variants</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><a href="Advance-fee_scam" title="Advance-fee scam">Advance-fee scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Art_student_scam" title="Art student scam">Art student scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Badger_game" title="Badger game">Badger game</a></li>

<li><a href="Bait-and-switch" title="Bait-and-switch">Bait-and-switch</a></li>

<li><a href="Black_money_scam" title="Black money scam">Black money scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Blessing_scam" title="Blessing scam">Blessing scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Bogus_escrow" title="Bogus escrow">Bogus escrow</a></li>

<li><a href="Boiler_room_(business)" title="Boiler room (business)">Boiler room</a></li>

<li><a href="Bride_scam" title="Bride scam">Bride scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Charity_fraud" title="Charity fraud">Charity fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="Clip_joint" title="Clip joint">Clip joint</a></li>

<li><a href="Coin-matching_game" title="Coin-matching game">Coin-matching game</a></li>

<li><a href="Coin_rolling_scams" title="Coin rolling scams">Coin rolling scams</a></li>

<li><a href="Drop_swindle" title="Drop swindle">Drop swindle</a></li>

<li><a href="Embarrassing_cheque" title="Embarrassing cheque">Embarrassing cheque</a></li>

<li><a href="Extraterrestrial_real_estate" title="Extraterrestrial real estate">Extraterrestrial real estate</a></li>

<li><a href="Fiddle_game" class="mw-redirect" title="Fiddle game">Fiddle game</a></li>

<li><a href="Fine_print" title="Fine print">Fine print</a></li>

<li><a href="Foreclosure_rescue_scheme" title="Foreclosure rescue scheme">Foreclosure rescue scheme</a></li>

<li><a href="Foreign_exchange_fraud" title="Foreign exchange fraud">Foreign exchange fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="Fortune_telling_fraud" title="Fortune telling fraud">Fortune telling fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="Get-rich-quick_scheme" title="Get-rich-quick scheme">Get-rich-quick scheme</a></li>

<li><a href="Green_goods_scam" title="Green goods scam">Green goods scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Hustling" title="Hustling">Hustling</a></li>

<li><a href="Indian_coal_allocation_scam" title="Indian coal allocation scam">Indian coal allocation scam</a></li>

<li><a href="IRS_impersonation_scam" title="IRS impersonation scam">IRS impersonation scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Scams_in_intellectual_property" title="Scams in intellectual property">Intellectual property scams</a></li>

<li><a href="Kansas_City_Shuffle" title="Kansas City Shuffle">Kansas City Shuffle</a></li>

<li><a href="Locksmith_scam" title="Locksmith scam">Locksmith scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Medical_quackery" class="mw-redirect" title="Medical quackery">Medical quackery</a></li>

<li><a href="Mismarking" title="Mismarking">Mismarking</a></li>

<li><a href="Mock_auction" title="Mock auction">Mock auction</a></li>

<li><a href="Moving_scam" title="Moving scam">Moving scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Overpayment_scam" title="Overpayment scam">Overpayment scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Patent_safe" title="Patent safe">Patent safe</a></li>

<li><a href="Pigeon_drop" title="Pigeon drop">Pigeon drop</a></li>

<li><a href="Pork_barrel" title="Pork barrel">Pork barrel</a></li>

<li><a href="Redemption_movement" title="Redemption movement">Redemption/A4V schemes</a></li>

<li><a href="Reloading_scam" title="Reloading scam">Reloading scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Return_fraud" title="Return fraud">Return fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="Salting_(confidence_trick)" title="Salting (confidence trick)">Salting</a></li>

<li><a href="Slavery_reparations_scam" title="Slavery reparations scam">Slavery reparations scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Spanish_Prisoner" title="Spanish Prisoner">Spanish Prisoner</a></li>

<li><a href="SSA_impersonation_scam" title="SSA impersonation scam">SSA impersonation scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Strip_search_phone_call_scam" title="Strip search phone call scam">Strip search phone call scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Swampland_in_Florida" title="Swampland in Florida">Swampland in Florida</a></li>

<li><a href="Tarmac_scam" title="Tarmac scam">Tarmac scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Technical_support_scam" title="Technical support scam">Technical support scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Telemarketing_fraud" title="Telemarketing fraud">Telemarketing fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="Thai_tailor_scam" title="Thai tailor scam">Thai tailor scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Three-card_monte" title="Three-card monte">Three-card monte</a></li>

<li><a href="Trojan_horse_(business)" title="Trojan horse (business)">Trojan horse</a></li>

<li><a href="Wash_trade" title="Wash trade">Wash trading</a></li>

<li><a href="White_van_speaker_scam" title="White van speaker scam">White van speaker scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Work-at-home_scheme" title="Work-at-home scheme">Work-at-home scheme</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Internet_fraud" title="Internet fraud">Internet scams</a> and<br>countermeasures</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><a href="Avalanche_(phishing_group)" title="Avalanche (phishing group)">Avalanche</a></li>

<li><a href="Pig_butchering_scam" title="Pig butchering scam">Pig butchering</a></li>

<li><a href="Carding_(fraud)" title="Carding (fraud)">Carding</a></li>

<li><a href="Catfishing" title="Catfishing">Catfishing</a></li>

<li><a href="Click_fraud" title="Click fraud">Click fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="Clickjacking" title="Clickjacking">Clickjacking</a></li>

<li><a href="Cramming_(fraud)" title="Cramming (fraud)">Cramming</a></li>

<li>Cryptocurrency scams</li>

<li><a href="Cybercrime" title="Cybercrime">Cybercrime</a></li>

<li><a href="CyberThrill" title="CyberThrill">CyberThrill</a></li>

<li><a href="DarkMarket" title="DarkMarket">DarkMarket</a></li>

<li><a href="Domain_name_scam" class="mw-redirect" title="Domain name scam">Domain name scams</a></li>

<li><a href="Email_authentication" title="Email authentication">Email authentication</a></li>

<li><a href="Email_fraud" title="Email fraud">Email fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="Internet_vigilantism" title="Internet vigilantism">Internet vigilantism</a></li>

<li><a href="Lenny_(bot)" title="Lenny (bot)">Lenny anti-scam bot</a></li>

<li><a href="Lottery_scam" title="Lottery scam">Lottery scam</a></li>

<li><a href="PayPaI" title="PayPaI">PayPai</a></li>

<li><a href="Phishing" title="Phishing">Phishing</a></li>

<li><a href="Referer_spoofing" title="Referer spoofing">Referer spoofing</a></li>

<li><a href="Ripoff_Report" title="Ripoff Report">Ripoff Report</a></li>

<li><a href="Rock_Phish" title="Rock Phish">Rock Phish</a></li>

<li><a href="Romance_scam" title="Romance scam">Romance scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Russian_Business_Network" title="Russian Business Network">Russian Business Network</a></li>

<li><a href="SaferNet" title="SaferNet">SaferNet</a></li>

<li><a href="Scam_baiting" title="Scam baiting">Scam baiting</a>

<ul><li><a href="419eater.com" title="419eater.com">419eater.com</a></li>

<li><a href="Jim_Browning_(YouTuber)" title="Jim Browning (YouTuber)">Jim Browning</a></li>

<li><a href="Kitboga_(streamer)" title="Kitboga (streamer)">Kitboga</a></li>

<li><a href="Scammer_Payback" title="Scammer Payback">Scammer Payback</a></li></ul></li>

<li><a href="ShadowCrew" title="ShadowCrew">ShadowCrew</a></li>

<li><a href="Spoofed_URL" title="Spoofed URL">Spoofed URL</a></li>

<li><a href="Spoofing_attack" title="Spoofing attack">Spoofing attack</a></li>

<li><a href="Stock_Generation" title="Stock Generation">Stock Generation</a></li>

<li><a href="Voice_phishing" title="Voice phishing">Voice phishing</a></li>

<li><a href="Reputation_management" title="Reputation management">Website reputation ratings</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Pyramid_scheme" title="Pyramid scheme">Pyramid</a> and<br><a href="Ponzi_scheme" title="Ponzi scheme">Ponzi schemes</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><a href="Aman_Futures_pyramid_scam_case" title="Aman Futures pyramid scam case">Aman Futures Group</a></li>

<li><a href="Bernard_Cornfeld" title="Bernard Cornfeld">Bernard Cornfeld</a></li>

<li><a href="Caritas_(Ponzi_scheme)" title="Caritas (Ponzi scheme)">Caritas</a></li>

<li><a href="Dona_Branca" title="Dona Branca">Dona Branca</a></li>

<li><a href="Earl_Jones_(investment_advisor)" title="Earl Jones (investment advisor)">Earl Jones</a></li>

<li><a href="Ezubao" title="Ezubao">Ezubao</a></li>

<li><a href="Foundation_for_New_Era_Philanthropy" title="Foundation for New Era Philanthropy">Foundation for New Era Philanthropy</a></li>

<li><a href="Franchise_fraud" title="Franchise fraud">Franchise fraud</a></li>

<li><a href="High-yield_investment_program" title="High-yield investment program">High-yield investment program (HYIP)</a></li>

<li><a href="Investors_Overseas_Service" title="Investors Overseas Service">Investors Overseas Service</a></li>

<li><a href="Kapa-Community_Ministry_International" title="Kapa-Community Ministry International">Kapa investment scam</a></li>

<li><a href="Kubus_scheme" title="Kubus scheme">Kubus scheme</a></li>

<li><a href="Madoff_investment_scandal" title="Madoff investment scandal">Madoff investment scandal</a></li>

<li><a href="Make_Money_Fast" title="Make Money Fast">Make Money Fast</a></li>

<li><a href="Matrix_scheme" title="Matrix scheme">Matrix scheme</a></li>

<li><a href="Petters_Group_Worldwide" title="Petters Group Worldwide">Petters Group Worldwide</a></li>

<li><a href="Pyramid_schemes_in_Albania" title="Pyramid schemes in Albania">Pyramid schemes in Albania</a></li>

<li><a href="Reed_Slatkin" title="Reed Slatkin">Reed Slatkin</a></li>

<li><a href="Saradha_Group_financial_scandal" title="Saradha Group financial scandal">Saradha Group financial scandal</a></li>

<li><a href="Secret_Sister" title="Secret Sister">Secret Sister</a></li>

<li><a href="Scott_W._Rothstein" title="Scott W. Rothstein">Scott W. Rothstein</a></li>

<li><a href="Stanford_Financial_Group" title="Stanford Financial Group">Stanford Financial Group</a></li>

<li><a href="Welsh_Thrasher_faith_scam" title="Welsh Thrasher faith scam">Welsh Thrasher faith scam</a></li>

<li><a href="WinCapita" title="WinCapita">WinCapita</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Lists</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">

<ul><li><a href="List_of_con_artists" title="List of con artists">Con artists</a></li>

<li><a href="List_of_confidence_tricks" class="mw-redirect" title="List of confidence tricks">Confidence tricks</a></li>

<li><a href="List_of_criminal_enterprises%2C_gangs%2C_and_syndicates" title="List of criminal enterprises, gangs, and syndicates">Criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates</a></li>

<li><a href="List_of_impostors" title="List of impostors">Impostors</a></li>

<li>In the media

<ul><li><a href="Confidence_tricks_in_film_and_television" title="Confidence tricks in film and television">Film and television</a></li>

<li><a href="Confidence_tricks_in_literature" title="Confidence tricks in literature">Literature</a></li></ul></li>

<li><a href="List_of_Ponzi_schemes" title="List of Ponzi schemes">Ponzi schemes</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

<div class="navbox-styles"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-labelledby="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1025099#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata645" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&#124;text-top&#124;10px&#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&#124;link=https&#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1025099#identifiers&#124;class=noprint&#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata645" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Authority control databases </div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">National</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/sh94009570">United States</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nli.org.il/en/authorities/987007565911905171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lux.collections.yale.edu/view/concept/825705f3-f0ab-4396-b5c2-c52faf686f42">Yale LUX</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div><div class="zim-footer">

This article is issued from <a class="external text" title="Last edited on 2025-05-08" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/?title=Shell_game&oldid=1289426238">Wikipedia</a>. The text is available under <a class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

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