History Main / ViolinScam

* In a flashback in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', the girls pull a violin scam with a ring. It goes something like this: At a gas station, Wichita, played by Creator/EmmaStone, is rich and pretty and obviously searching for a lost item on the ground. When the station clerk approaches, Wichita explains that she lost her engagement ring, but she's got a plane to catch. She offers to reward him handsomely if he finds it and ships it to her. Later, he sees Little Rock, played by Creator/AbigailBreslin, "finding" the ring on the ground. He gives her all the money in his cash register in exchange for the ring. Afterwards, Wichita meets up with Little Rock and it is revealed that they have a bag full of cheap rings just like it.
* Done in an early scene in the movie ''Film/Shade2003''. Woman loses ring, promises gas station attendant $1000 to anyone who finds it. Bum finds ring, gas station attendant buys it from bum for $300, bum goes around a few corners and gets into car of woman...
* ''Film/MatchstickMen'' uses two variations, one with a water filtration system (the mark buys it to avoid paying taxes for a nonexistent European vacation), and one with a "winning" lottery ticket.

* ''Literature/AmericanGods'' features a detailed description by the old grifter calling himself Mr. Wednesday. It's a plot point later.

* ''Series/SanfordAndSon'': This occurs in the "Pot Luck" episode, involving a chamber pot that Lamont buys from a woman for $20, with Mr. Osborne her husband confronting Lamont, offering to buy it back. Since it has the crest of the Prince of Wales as its insignia, Lamont offers Mr. Osborne a buy-back price of $200. Later, Mr. Bonnet [[ItisPronouncedTroPay pronounced "Bone-NAY"]] offers Lamont $900 for the chamber pot. Lamont paid $300 to buy the chamber pot from Mr. Osborne, only to learn that Osborne and Bonnet are in cahoots, with Bonnet using a [=McDonald's=] number as his business phone, Osborne has been playing an outraged husband, and antique dealer Mr. Bonnet offering top dollar. When Fred brought the chamber pot to a legitimate antiques dealer, learning that the scammers have been hustling inexpensive knockoffs around town, they've already left town, their check is no good, and Lamont has been conned, left with only a cheap chamber pot and its storage cabinet.

* Handled offscreen in VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous; the Thiefling's ledgers point out that a thiefling bought an antique violin for 10 gold, worth an apparent fortune. It appraised for five gold at the end of the day. The exasperated Thiefling leader vows never to send that Thiefling out on her own again.

* Handled offscreen in {{VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous}}; the Thiefling's ledgers point out that a thiefling bought an antique violin for 10 gold, worth an apparent fortune. It appraised for five gold at the end of the day. The exasperated Thiefling leader vows never to send that Thiefling out on her own again.

* A variant was done in ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' episode "Cash and Curry" where the conmen were of Indian descent and the supposedly valuable object was a statue of a Hindu god. The con was played with a variation, where the two conmen claimed that they were unable to talk to each other because they were of different castes; and of course, the episode ended with a thoroughly [[DroppedAnAnvilOnHim Anvilicious]] scene where the conmen pointed out that [[AuthorTract only a prejudiced person attempting to swindle clueless immigrants would fall for such a scam.]]

* An old joke[=/=]urban legend about an antique dealer, a cat, a saucer, and a greedy customer involves this. The customer is shopping in a crowded antique store. He sees the store cat eating from a saucer, and recognizes the saucer as a very valuable example of Ming porcelain. Assuming the dealer doesn't know what it is, he offers to buy the saucer for $5.00. The dealer declines. The next day, the customer comes back, and this time, offers to buy the ''cat'', offering a much higher price. The dealer agrees, and as the customer is leaving with his new cat, he says "I expect he's used to eating out of that saucer. Let me take it as well." The dealer replies "Give you that saucer? Never! Do you have any idea how many cats I've sold with that saucer?"

** A variation with horses - although they had to actually steal a good one to demonstrate the speed. Then they just swapped it out for a similar looking but much less valuable animal and trusted the man wouldn't notice. And of course the ultimate object of the con wasn't to steal his money, but have him accused of insurance fraud.

* A variant was done in ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' episode "Cash and Curry" where the conmen were of Indian descent and the supposedly valuable object was a statue of a Hindu god. The con was played with a variation, where the two conmen claimed that they were unable to talk to each other because they were of different castes; and of course, the episode ended with a thoroughly Anvilicious scene where the conmen pointed out that [[AuthorTract only a prejudiced person attempting to swindle clueless immigrants would fall for such a scam.]]

* In a flashback in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', the girls pull a violin scam with a ring. It goes something like this: At a gas station, Wichita, played by Emma Stone, is rich and pretty and obviously searching for a lost item on the ground. When the station clerk approaches, Wichita explains that she lost her engagement ring, but she's got a plane to catch. She offers to reward him handsomely if he finds it and ships it to her. Later, he sees Little Rock, played by Abigail Breslin, "finding" the ring on the ground. He gives her all the money in his cash register in exchange for the ring. Afterwards, Emma meets up with Little Rock and it is revealed that they have a bag full of cheap rings just like it.

Now the mark has to make a decision. If he's a good man, he informs the "old violinist" of his good fortune and the scam fails, with no risk or loss to any party. If the mark is greedy, however, he might play into their hands. He offers to buy the violin, as the old man (Con 1) clearly has no idea of its actual value, but the violinist loves it like a family member, and the asking price goes up and up. Eventually he "gives in," selling his beloved instrument for ten thousand dollars. The new owner waits a bit, then calls the number on the card. No one answers, of course: the card is bogus and the violin worth a few hundred bucks at most. Meanwhile, the conmen meet up to split the take and get another cheap violin.

A scam in which the mark gives the con artist real money for a low-value replica item in anticipation of a much larger return in the near future. The trick to this scam is to make the mark believe he knows the "real" value of the item and can thus take advantage of the seller's ignorance. This element helps the scammers avoid running afoul of the law -- the mark can't explain what happened without revealing his own greedy and unethical actions, and is thus less likely to pursue the matter.

A typical scenario goes like this: One of a pair of con artists (Con 1), posing as a retired violinist, leaves his precious violin as collateral against some small debt, say at a family restaurant, while he goes and fetches the cash. While he's gone, the other con man (Con 2) walks presents himself to the mark as an rare instrument dealer who just happens to be passing by, showing his business card. He sees the violin case in the restaurant and asks to see it. As soon as he examines it, he's delighted -- it's a rare instrument by a famous Italian maker! It's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars! He must have it, but he has a plane to catch and can't wait for the old violinist to return. He says "Dear sir, would you please give him my business card, so I can make him an offer?"

Now the mark's greed comes in. If he's a good man, he informs the old violinist of his good fortune and the scam has simply failed, with no risk or loss to any party. If he mark is greedy, however, he might play into their hands. He offers to buy the violin, as the old man clearly has no idea of its actual value, but the violinist loves it like a family member, and the asking price goes up and up. Eventually he "gives in," selling his beloved instrument for ten thousand dollars. The new owner waits a bit, then calls the number on the card. No one answers, of course: the card is bogus and the violin worth a few hundred bucks at most. Meanwhile, the conmen meet up to split the take and get another cheap violin.

A typical scenario goes like this: One of a pair of con artists (Con 1), posing as a retired violinist, leaves his precious violin as collateral against some small debt, say at a family restaurant, while he goes and fetches the cash. While he's gone, the other con man (Con 2) walks presents himself to the mark as an rare instrument dealer who just happens to be passing by, showing his business card. He sees the violin case in the restaurant and asks to see it. As soon as he examines it, he's delighted--it's a rare instrument by a famous Italian maker! It's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars! He must have it, but he has a plane to catch and can't wait for the old violinist to return. He says "Dear sir, would you please give him my business card, so I can make him an offer?"

Now the mark's greed comes in. If he's a good man, he gives the old violinist his instrument and informs him of his good fortune to own such a rare instrument, and the scam has failed. The con artists haven't lost money or gotten in any trouble, and they can repeat the scam on a new mark. If he mark is greedy, however, the scam may succeed. The mark offers the old man a thousand dollars for his violin, as the old man clearly has no idea of its actual value, but loves it like a family member. The price goes up and up, and eventually the con artist (Con 1) gives in, selling his beloved violin for ten thousand dollars. He walks out with the money, and the new owner waits a bit, then calls the number on the card. It's a false number, of course (as is the address), and any professional will immediately recognize that the violin is worth perhaps $500 dollars, and the "old violinist" and the "rare instrument dealer" meet up to split the take and get another cheap violin.

A variant is the "lost ring" scam, in which a customer approaches the mark (in this case an employee or manager) with an expensive ring he claims to have found. The con man's accomplice will then phone the store, anxiously claiming the ring and offering to come directly to the store with a huge reward for its return. If the employee is dishonest, he keeps this information to himself and buys the ring from its finder, gleefully imagining how small a price to pay it is compared to the thousands that will soon be his. If the employee is honest, he will tell the con man about the reward, but the con man will insist he can't stay. In those cases, the hope is that the employee will offer him a 'share' in the reward money, possibly straight from the till. Needless to say, the ring is a costume jewelry prop and no reward is forthcoming.

* In a flashback in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', the girls pull a violin scam with a ring. It goes something like this: At a gas station, Emma Stone is rich and pretty and obviously searching for a lost item on the ground. When the station clerk approaches, Emma explains that she lost her engagement ring, but she's got a plane to catch. She offers to reward him handsomely if he finds it and ships it to her. Later, he sees Abigail Breslin "finding" the ring on the ground. He gives her all the money in his cash register in exchange for the ring. Afterwards, Emma meets up with Abigail and it is revealed that they have a bag full of cheap rings just like it.

* An amusing variation happened in ''WesternAnimation/TopCat'': a pair of con artists trick an immigrant hot dog vendor from the neighborhood into buying worthless stocks in a floundering Nova Scotia oil company. T.C. then [[MockMillionaire tricks the scammers into thinking he's a Texan millionaire]]. While they are meeting in his "office" (the alley, only spruced up), T.C. leaves for a moment only for the "teletype" (the output of which actually comes from Benny hiding under a table with a typewriter) to state that the well struck oil and the value of the shares skyrocketed. The scammers then rush to the hot dog vendor and buy back the shares at triple the price. In other words T.C. managed to pull the violin scam for a worthless item ''the marks had previously owned!''

->'''Hawkeye:''' What's that, a new watch?\\
'''B.J.:''' Yeah. Got it off a patient. Twenty bucks! Goes for $150.\\
'''Hawkeye:''' The patient had to send the money home, right? \\
'''B.J.:''' How'd you know? \\
'''Hawkeye:''' His kid outgrew his tonsils and needs a set of new ones? The cat needs a "whiskerectomy?"\\
'''B.J.:''' I got taken?\\
'''Hawkeye:''' We gotta do something about that apple-pie-and-hot-dog face.
-->-- "[[Recap/MashS4E16DearMa Dear Ma]]" ''{{Series/MASH}}''

Now the mark's greed comes in. If he's a good man, he gives the old violinist his instrument and informs him of his good fortune to own such a rare instrument, and the scam has failed. The con artists haven't lost money or gotten in any trouble, and they can repeatthe scam on a new mark. If he mark is greedy, however, the scam may succeed. The mark offers the old man a thousand dollars for his violin, as the old man clearly has no idea of its actual value, but loves it like a family member. The price goes up and up, and eventually the con artist (Con 1) gives in, selling his beloved violin for ten thousand dollars. He walks out with the money, and the new owner waits a bit, then calls the number on the card. It's a false number, of course (as is the address), and any professional will immediately recognize that the violin is worth perhaps $500 dollars, and the "old violinist" and the "rare instrument dealer" meet up to split the take and get another cheap violin.

A typical scenario goes like this: One of a pair of con artists (Con 1), posing as a retired violinist, leaves his precious violin as collateral against some small debt, say at a family restaurant, while he goes and fetches the cash. While he's gone, the other con man (Con 2) walks presents himself to the mark as an rare instrument dealer who kust happens to be passing by, showing his business card. He sees the violin case in the restaurant and asks to see it. As soon as he examines it, he's delighted--it's a rare instrument by a famous Italian maker! It's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars! He must have it, but he has a plane to catch and can't wait for the old violinist to return. He says "Dear sir, would you please give him my business card, so I can make him an offer?"

Now the mark's greed comes in. If he's a good man, he gives the old violinist his instrument and informs him of his good fortune, and the scam has failed. The con artists haven't lost money or gotten in any trouble, and they can repeatthe scam on a new mark. If he mark is greedy, however, the scam may succeed. The mark offers the old man a thousand dollars for his violin, as the old man clearly has no idea of its actual value, but loves it like a family member. The price goes up and up, and eventually the con artist (Con 1) gives in, selling his beloved violin for ten thousand dollars. He walks out with the money, and the new owner waits a bit, then calls the number on the card. It's a false number, of course, and any professional will immediately recognize that the violin is worth perhaps $500 dollars, and the "old violinist" and the "rare instrument dealer" meet up to split the take and get another cheap violin.

A scam in which the mark gives the con artist real money for a worthless item in anticipation of a much larger return in the near future. The trick to this scam is to make the mark believe he knows the "real" value of the item and can thus take advantage of the seller's ignorance. This element helps the scammers avoid running afoul of the law -- the mark can't explain what happened without revealing his own greedy and unethical actions, and is thus less likely to pursue the matter.

A typical scenario goes like this: One of a pair of con artists, posing as a retired violinist, leaves his precious violin as collateral against some small debt while he goes and fetches the cash. While he's gone, the other con man presents himself to the mark as an instrument dealer, business card and everything. He wants to have a look at the violin he saw in passing and as soon as it's produced, he's delighted -- as he thought, it's an original Stradivarius! It's worth hundreds of thousands of dollars! He must have it, but he has a plane to catch and can't wait for the old man to return -- Dear sir, would you please give him my business card?

Now the mark's greed comes in. If he's a good man, he gives the old violinist his instrument and informs him of his good fortune, and the scam has failed (although the con artists haven't lost money or gotten in any trouble). If he's a lowlife, however, the scam may succeed. He offers the old man a thousand dollars for his violin -- the old man clearly has no idea of its actual value, but loves it like a family member. The price goes up and up, and eventually the con artist gives in, selling his beloved violin for ten thousand dollars. He walks out with the money, and the new owner waits a bit, then calls the number on the card. It's a false number, of course, and any professional will immediately recognize that the violin is worth perhaps fifty dollars, and the old man and the "dealer" meet up to split the take and get another cheap violin.

A variant is the "lost ring" scam, in which a customer approaches the mark (in this case an employee or manager) with a ring he claims to have found. The con man's accomplice will then phone the store, anxiously claiming the ring and offering to come directly to the store with a huge reward for its return. If the employee is dishonest, he keeps this information to himself and buys the ring from its finder, gleefully imagining how small a price to pay it is compared to the thousands that will soon be his. If the employee is honest, he will tell the con man about the reward, but the con man will insist he can't stay. In those cases, the hope is that the employee will offer him a 'share' in the reward money, possibly straight from the till. Needless to say, the ring is a dime-store prop and no reward is forthcoming.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''{{Series/MASH}}'': "[[Recap/MashS4E16DearMa Dear Ma]]": When a patient is leaving on the evac bus, he begs B.J. to buy his "$150" watch, which the good doctor eventually capitulates to for $20. When bragging to Hawkeye, Hawkeye quickly guesses his friend was scammed when he hears of the deal. [[spoiler:As luck would have it, that patient ends up back at the 4077 under B.J.'s knife after the bus was attacked]].

** One episode was spent modifying a motorbike to convince a collector that it was the one UsefulNotes/TELawrence had been riding when he died. Varied chiefly in that the "authenticating expert" role was left to ''TheMark himself'' to play: all the "evidence" was circumstantial and never mentioned explicitly by the cons, and in some cases (a bent handlebar, a rattle in the gas tank), they even tried to hide it for fear of devaluing the bike - which, in a smaller variation, was not completely worthless on its own merit, just not worth quite so much.
** An earlier episode featured a Greek antiques dealer (played by ''Creator/BrianBlessed!'') who conned a Japanese business man into purchasing a Satsuma tea-bowl for millions. The tea-bowl was authentic, but the provenance stating that the bowl was once owned by Emperor Hirohito and that the Emperor had drunk from it just before signing the Armistice that ended World War II was forged. Lovejoy and the businessman (along with a wealthy and attractive American widow whom BRIAN BLESSED had scammed earlier) got back at him with an elaborate scam involving a forgery of a Russian religious icon (a market TheMark was attempting to corner) that the businessman had in his possession, complete with an authenticating expert, and a trick where Lovejoy hand-sewed two bags, one for the fake icon and one for the real icon, from antique velvet spritzed with incense (so it would smell like it had been left inside a Russian church for decades) and sprinkled the interiors of the bags with paint chips from destroyed antique paintings so they could provide TheMark with all the "paint samples" he would require to authenticate the icon.

* Done in an early scene in the movie ''Film/{{Shade}}''. Woman loses ring, promises gas station attendant $1000 to anyone who finds it. Bum finds ring, gas station attendant buys it from bum for $300, bum goes around a few corners and gets into car of woman...

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* Pulled more-or-less literally on you in ''VideoGames/{{Summoner 2}}'', with a different instrument. You can either walk away with the loan interest and not fall further into the scam, or follow the scam to its conclusion and end up with a magic ring.

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Compare PigInAPoke.

** He and some random mark he'd been chatting with in a bar would find a drunk (actually Jimmy's friend Marco, pretending to be drunk) in the alley with a fancy suit and a (fake) Rolex. Jimmy would egg the mark into helping his steal the drunk's watch, which he states is worth thousands. When discussing how to split their earnings, the mark would naturally offer all the cash he has on him to claim the worthless watch. Jimmy and Marco, naturally, have a bunch more of those fake watches at home. During a montage in the episode "Marco," where Jimmy and Marco go on a week of scamming people, the two appear to pull this scam off with the conventional violin.