Here are the players in a Con Game:
THE GRIFTER - This is the boss. He/she is the brains of the operation. This is the person who runs The Con.
SHILLS - These are assistants to The Grifter. The Shill is used to distract the victim or encourage the victim. Shills can be young or old, male or female, attractive or plain. A shill can look like anyone.
THE MARK - This is the victim. The person The Grifter and Shills are trying to steal from. Also known as THE SUCKER.
A Confidence Game relies on human emotions, senses and behaviors to work. A Grifter attempts to take advantage of a person’s greed, fear, naïveté, arrogance and compassion. A mugger will come up and stick a gun in your face and demand your money. A Con Game is much more subtle. They have the same goal, though, they want to steal something. Since a Con Game is a game, oftentimes The Grifter is caught up in the competition. The goal is to make easy money, but The Grifter may also run the con to try to humiliate someone, or to see how much he can steal, or to take from another thief.