Con artists have deceived their victims for centuries. Today, however, deception is more profitable and global than ever before. Using the power of digital technology, today's scammers have created a worldwide exploitation network on an unprecedented scale.

In this book, global affairs experts Moisés Naím and Francisco Toro explore how con artists manage to deceive us and why they have become so influential. They argue that modern scammers exploit the same vulnerabilities of human reasoning as the potion sellers of the old Western world. They gain our trust, fool us into believing they possess some special skill or knowledge, and then use us for their own benefit.

In a sense, nothing has changed. However, today con artists are digital, womorphic, and worldwide. Whether it's health gurus promoting pseudoscience or cryptocurrency swindlers organizing Ponzi schemes, today's scammers quickly gather a global audience online and on social media by using a common set of strategies. This allows them to deceive unsuspecting victims rapidly, while our sluggish institutions struggle to respond.

This book is a revealing journey into brazen deception and brutal victimization that constitute this new global scourge, while also providing the tools to navigate and avoid the pitfalls of con artists.

What others have said about the book:

• "Who would have thought that reading about the ways in which con artists have deceived us throughout human history — from ancient alchemists to Dr. Oz, and from the infamous Trump University to the labyrinthine and deceitful boundaries of artificial intelligence — would be so fascinating? Narrating this story with precision and liveliness, Naím and Toro place us, the gullible, at the center of the story." — Marie Arana, Director of the Library of Congress (USA)

• "The Con Artists of Naím and Toro is not just a story about ruthless criminals and unsuspecting victims, but a masterful analysis of the driving forces and vulnerabilities — in our technological infrastructure, psychology, and institutional defenses — that make us all targets of exploitation. Essential reading for understanding and surviving in the golden age of deception." — Ian Bremmer, author and president of the Eurasia Group

• "We live in an era of liars, fraudsters, thieves, and con artists. Naím and Toro explain how it happens and what it means, with vivid and urgent language." — Anne Applebaum, distinguished journalist

• "Exciting and at the same time disturbing." — Nature

• "A sharp examination of deceptions and the reasons why we succumb to them." — Library Journal

• "The world has always been full of swindlers and con men. But have you ever wondered why we are so vulnerable to their tricks? And why we are particularly susceptible in our times? [...] Definitely read the book Con Artists." — Fareed Zakaria, acclaimed journalist