To Catch a Con Man
Encyclopedia
To Catch a Con Man is a series of hidden camera
investigations by the television newsmagazine Dateline NBC
devoted to the subject of identifying and detaining con men
who attempt to extract money from victims in advance fee fraud
scams. The show also exposes and catches identity thieves
. The stories, which have all been reported by Dateline NBC correspondent Chris Hansen
, are conducted as an undercover
sting operation
. The title of the series is a play on Dateline's wildly popular To Catch a Predator
series, also reported on by Hansen. The spin off is featured with a credit card watchdog group called cardcops.com who investigate ID thefts and catching them in the act. Hansen calls the ID thieves "a different kind of predator."
Hidden camera
A hidden camera is a still or video camera used to film people without their knowledge. The camera is "hidden" because it is either not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another object...
investigations by the television newsmagazine Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
devoted to the subject of identifying and detaining con men
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
who attempt to extract money from victims in advance fee fraud
Advance fee fraud
An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain...
scams. The show also exposes and catches identity thieves
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
. The stories, which have all been reported by Dateline NBC correspondent Chris Hansen
Chris Hansen
Christopher Edward "Chris" Hansen is an American television infotainment personality. He is known for his work on Dateline NBC, in particular the former segment known as To Catch a Predator, which revolved around catching potential Internet sex predators using a sting operation.-Career:Hansen...
, are conducted as an undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
. The title of the series is a play on Dateline's wildly popular To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator
To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that features hidden camera investigations by the television newsmagazine program Dateline NBC. It is devoted to impersonating underage youth and detaining adults who contact them over the Internet for sexual liaisons...
series, also reported on by Hansen. The spin off is featured with a credit card watchdog group called cardcops.com who investigate ID thefts and catching them in the act. Hansen calls the ID thieves "a different kind of predator."