9 Of History’s Most Infamous Con Artists And The Scams They Almost Got Away With
All That's Interesting | 10.06.2026 08:00
The term “con artist” or “conman” comes from one of American history’s earliest scammers, a man by the name of William Thompson. In 1849, Thompson was arrested in New York City for a slew of successful scams during which he duped unassuming passersby on the street into lending him their valuables before vanishing with them.
