Journalist Tom Vanderbilt reflects on Istanbul's shoeshine scam and nostalgic street cons

Journalist Tom Vanderbilt encountered a shoeshine brush scam in Istanbul's Karaköy neighborhood, where a dropped brush leads to a complimentary polish and a request for donations. This experience triggered nostalgic memories of past street hustles, including a 1990s New York subway incident, van-based speaker scams, and a camera theft at Madrid's El Rastro market. Vanderbilt contrasts these physical cons with modern digital scams like Venmo fraud, SIM swapping, and AI-assisted phishing emails targeting authors. He references Maria Konnikova's book 'The Confidence Game,' which notes that effective cons make victims feel virtuous. The article mentions sociologist Erving Goffman's concept of 'civil inattention' and describes how 19th-century industrialization created ideal conditions for confidence artists. Istanbul's tourist-heavy environment continues this tradition, with Vanderbilt also encountering a rug salesman near the Basilica Cistern. The National Association of Bunco Investigators website documents contemporary digital fraud methods. Vanderbilt's piece appears in Monocle, where he is a regular contributor.