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* ''Film/TheFlimFlamMan'' contains a lot of little con games instead of one big con.
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* ''Film/TheFlimFlamMan'' contains ''Film/TheSwindlers'': Many, in a lot movie about a group of little con games instead of one big con.artists who band together to take down a fugitive Ponzi schemer. The first con is shown when Choon-ja flashes her cleavage to distract a jeweler which allows her to switch out a real necklace with a fake. That turns out to not have worked, as it was actually a sting and two cops pop up immediately to arrest her. But that was the actual con, as the two cops weren't actually cops, but Choon-ja's partners in crime, Seok-dong and Kang-suk.
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* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_real_estate Extraterrestrial real estate scams.]] This refers to so-called claims of land ownership on any part of outer space by hucksters and conmen. They are considered bogus, as the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 views space as an "international common" for the benefit of mankind and prohibits anyone from claiming jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the scam persists with crooks "selling" parts of outer space through titles of ownership termed "Lunar deeds," etc.
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* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_real_estate Extraterrestrial real estate scams.]] This refers to so-called claims of land ownership on any part of outer space object by hucksters and conmen. They are considered bogus, bogus as the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 views space as an "international common" for the mankind's benefit of mankind and prohibits forbids anyone from claiming jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the scam persists with crooks "selling" parts of outer space through titles "titles" of ownership termed "Lunar "lunar deeds," etc.etc. People who tried making such claims via the courts have been laughed out left and right.
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** George C. Parker infamously "sold" landmarks such as the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant's Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty, going so far as to set up fake offices and forge documents "proving" he had the rights to do so. He was most well known for "selling" transit rights to the Brooklyn Bridge multiple times, to the point that the police had to chase away his victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker's cons that implies someone is gullible.
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** George C. Parker infamously "sold" landmarks such as the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant's Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty, going so far as to set up fake offices and forge documents "proving" he had the rights to do so. He was most well known for "selling" transit the crossing rights to the Brooklyn Bridge multiple times, to the point that the police had to chase away his victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker's cons that implies someone is gullible.
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** George C. Parker infamously "sold" landmarks such as the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant's Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty, going so far as to set up fake offices and forge documents "proving" he had the rights to do so. His most famous deeds, however, were the multiple times he "sold" the transit rights to the Brooklyn Bridge, to the point that the police had to chase away his victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker's cons that implies someone is gullible.
to:
** George C. Parker infamously "sold" landmarks such as the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant's Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty, going so far as to set up fake offices and forge documents "proving" he had the rights to do so. His He was most famous deeds, however, were the multiple times he "sold" the well known for "selling" transit rights to the Brooklyn Bridge, Bridge multiple times, to the point that the police had to chase away his victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker's cons that implies someone is gullible.
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** Landmark sales. This is another variant, where scammers would often "sell" landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge to newly-arrived immigrants. Cops would often chase away George C. Parker's victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker that implies someone is gullible.
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** George C. Parker infamously "sold" landmarks such as the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant's Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty, going so far as to set up fake offices and forge documents "proving" he had the rights to do so. His most famous deeds, however, were the multiple times he "sold" the transit rights to the Brooklyn Bridge, to the point that the police had to chase away
** Victor Lustig AKA "The Man Who Sold The Eiffel Tower Twice". Lustig's scheme was somewhat more nuanced than most landmark sales: in 1925, the Eiffel Tower was falling into disrepair due to rising maintenance costs leading to speculation that it would simply be demolished. Lustig set up a meeting with scrap metal dealers claiming to be a French government official in charge of finding an "honest businessman" who would help them demolish the tower for scrap, though it had to be done in secret to avoid public outcry. Lustig then selected who he perceived as the most gullible of the bunch, André Poisson, later met with him privately, and not so subtly asked him for a bribe to secure the deal for him. Poisson paid the bribe and the funds for the tower and Lustig immediately fled the country. Months later, Lustig could still find no mention of the fraud in the press, leading him to believe neither Poisson nor the other businessmen informed the authorities out of embarrassment. So Lustig went back to Paris and pulled off the scheme ''again'' only for his new marks to call the police, forcing him to go on the run once more.
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* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lustig Victor Lustig]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker George C. Parker]] are the most well-known perpetrators of this scheme in real life. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Furguson Arthur Furguson]] is another famous example though his existence might or might not be a hoax.
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* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lustig Victor Lustig]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker George C. Parker]] are the most well-known perpetrators of this scheme in real life. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Furguson Arthur Furguson]] is another famous example though his existence might or might not be a hoax.
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* ''Film/NineQueens'' and its American remake ''Criminal''. In this case what we are actually following is not the overall con but TheConWithinACon itself and then at the end the real con is a TwistEnding.
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* ''Film/NineQueens'' and its American remake ''Criminal''. In this case what we are actually following is not the overall con but TheConWithinACon a con within the con itself and then at the end the real con is a TwistEnding.
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[[WMG:[[center:[[AC:This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1610554716007514900&page=1 under discussion]] in the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1597830869030327400&page=1#1 Trope Repair Shop]].]]]]]]
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* TheConWithinACon
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* The main character in William Lindsay Gresham's ''Literature/NightmareAlley'' is a ruthless ConMan who poses as an upstanding spiritualist preacher to con wealthy clients. His biggest con is concocted with his mistress [[PsychoPsychologist Lilith]]. Between them they plan to scam an extremely wealthy auto tycoon named [[TheMark Ezra Grindle]] who is desperate to contact the spirit of his lost love Dorrie who died during a botched back-alley abortion that he made her get. Stan's very reluctant wife Molly poses as Dorrie during a series of [[ScoobyDooHoax phony]] [[SpookySeance séances]] aimed to convince Grindle that they are contacting the girl's spirit so he will part with increasing amounts of cash for Stan to continue.
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* The main character in William Lindsay Gresham's ''Literature/NightmareAlley'' is a ruthless ConMan who poses as an upstanding spiritualist preacher to con wealthy clients. His biggest con is concocted with his mistress [[PsychoPsychologist Lilith]]. Between them they plan to scam an extremely wealthy auto tycoon named [[TheMark Ezra Grindle]] Grindle who is desperate to contact the spirit of his lost love Dorrie who died during a botched back-alley abortion that he made her get. Stan's very reluctant wife Molly poses as Dorrie during a series of [[ScoobyDooHoax phony]] [[SpookySeance séances]] aimed to convince Grindle that they are contacting the girl's spirit so he will part with increasing amounts of cash for Stan to continue.
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* ''Series/MissionImpossible'' is, of course, the TropeCodifier.
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* For the most part, the mark in ''Series/MissionImpossible'' is, of course, episodes conning people was a villain being duped into admitting his guilt. This would put the TropeCodifier.ConMan of that episode into TheTrickster category.
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* Several Sawyer-centric episodes of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', especially "The Long Con."
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* Several Sawyer-centric episodes There was a double subversion in the flashbacks of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', especially the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' episode "The Long Con."Con"; the mark, a woman named Cassidy, sees through Sawyer's con game and demands that she become his partner. However, in the end, she still ends up being duped out of 600,000 dollars; it just takes significantly longer to do it.
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* [[Wrestling/MickieJames Alexis Laree]] had no idea just how much Lexie Fyfe did not like her but the PGWA officials who listed her on the poll and the fans who voted her number one contender to the PGWA title held by Fyfe? They knew.
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* The short story by Creator/AndrewVachss has the mark turn out to be the New York City judiciary system. The ConMan appears to have stolen a bag from someone in an airport, but the person who entered with the bag and the witness both vanish, he produces the receipt, sues the state for false arrest, and gets a substantial amount of money.
* In the ''Literature/BekaCooper'' novels, marks are called 'coneys'. And being a series about police officers, there's a lot of them, from victims of pickpockets to people caught up in an elaborate scheme to trick them into spending counterfeit money and being arrested.
* In the ''Literature/BekaCooper'' novels, marks are called 'coneys'. And being a series about police officers, there's a lot of them, from victims of pickpockets to people caught up in an elaborate scheme to trick them into spending counterfeit money and being arrested.
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** {{Landmark Sale}}s. This is another variant, where scammers would often "sell" landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge to newly-arrived immigrants. Cops would often chase away George C. Parker's victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker that implies someone is gullible.
to:
** {{Landmark Sale}}s.Landmark sales. This is another variant, where scammers would often "sell" landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge to newly-arrived immigrants. Cops would often chase away George C. Parker's victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker that implies someone is gullible.
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* ''Series/{{Hustle}}'' is an entire series where each episode has the crew target a mark for misdeeds and showcases a lot of the tropes such a series entails.
** Also had a follow up; ''Series/TheRealHustle'', a consumer show detailing what to look out for and how to avoid falling for TheCon.
* In ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', many of their cons involve setting up the mark with a roper. Sophie the grifter is the most common choice. An excellent example of this is from "The Snow Job" where she pretends to be a olympic champion to attract their mark into spending money on a fake upgrade to the snow resort to finance his bad idea for an X-games. Later in the same episode, she ropes the marks younger brother into an even bigger scam involving buying life insurance settlements off of people with terminal illnesses. Sometimes the others - most commonly Hardison - serve as the Roper.
** Also had a follow up; ''Series/TheRealHustle'', a consumer show detailing what to look out for and how to avoid falling for TheCon.
* In ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', many of their cons involve setting up the mark with a roper. Sophie the grifter is the most common choice. An excellent example of this is from "The Snow Job" where she pretends to be a olympic champion to attract their mark into spending money on a fake upgrade to the snow resort to finance his bad idea for an X-games. Later in the same episode, she ropes the marks younger brother into an even bigger scam involving buying life insurance settlements off of people with terminal illnesses. Sometimes the others - most commonly Hardison - serve as the Roper.
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* ''Series/{{Hustle}}'' is an entire series where each episode has ''Series/{{Hustle}}'':
** Mickey Bricks sold someone the Sydney Opera House during his time in Australia before Season 5 of ''Series/{{Hustle}}''. In fact, it was mentioned as the reason for his absence from Season 4, during which the rest of the crewtarget a mark sold someone the Hollywood sign.
** The London Eye was also up formisdeeds and showcases a lot of sale at the tropes such a series entails.
end of Series 1. Inspector [[Literature/HerculePoirot Japp]] fell for it.
**Also had They also pull a follow up; ''Series/TheRealHustle'', variation in which they sell various London landmarks under the story that the crown is selling those artifacts due to the budget difficulties.
** ''Series/TheRealHustle'' is a consumer show detailing what to look out for and how to avoid falling for TheCon.
* In''Series/{{Leverage}}'', many ''Series/{{Leverage}}'':
** Many oftheir the cons involve setting up the mark with a roper. Sophie the grifter is the most common choice. An excellent example of this is from "The Snow Job" where she pretends to be a olympic champion to attract their mark into spending money on a fake upgrade to the snow resort to finance his bad idea for an X-games. Later in the same episode, she ropes the marks younger brother into an even bigger scam involving buying life insurance settlements off of people with terminal illnesses. Sometimes the others - most commonly Hardison - serve as the Roper.Roper.
** In "The Three Strikes Job", Nate poses as a real estate developer planning to build a baseball stadium to con a corrupt mayor. This requires him to make it look like an actual team was planning to move to the stadium.
** In "The (Very) Big Bird" episode, the team sells the original Spruce Goose to a corrupt airline owner and Howard Hughes enthusiast. They also trick him into thinking he's actually flying it out of its museum.
** Mickey Bricks sold someone the Sydney Opera House during his time in Australia before Season 5 of ''Series/{{Hustle}}''. In fact, it was mentioned as the reason for his absence from Season 4, during which the rest of the crew
** The London Eye was also up for
**
** ''Series/TheRealHustle'' is a consumer show detailing what to look out for and how to avoid falling for TheCon.
* In
** Many of
** In "The Three Strikes Job", Nate poses as a real estate developer planning to build a baseball stadium to con a corrupt mayor. This requires him to make it look like an actual team was planning to move to the stadium.
** In "The (Very) Big Bird" episode, the team sells the original Spruce Goose to a corrupt airline owner and Howard Hughes enthusiast. They also trick him into thinking he's actually flying it out of its museum.
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* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "City of Death" takes this to [[RefugeInAudacity ludicrous levels]]. The con: Count Scarlioni plans to steal the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre. He's set up a silent auction among a group of unscrupulous art collectors who think they're about to get the most valuable painting in the world, and they mail in their checks. Here's how it would normally work: The thief would steal the ''Mona Lisa'', only for the Count to refuse it. The Count gets the money, the thief goes to prison, and the art collectors eat humble pie--they can't raise a fuss at the risk of incriminating themselves. Here's how it works on ''Doctor Who'': the six art collectors ''get'' their ''Mona Lisas'', each of which is a ''legitimate'' copy that was painted by [=daVinci=] himself. [[spoiler:The Count is really an alien splintered through time, and he's been working a long con throughout human history so that he can eventually save his own species at the cost of preventing humanity from ever existing. The good Doctor saves the day by aiming to visit [=daVinci=], missing intentionally, and writing "THIS IS A FAKE" in permanent marker on the canvases reserved for the commissioned ''Mona Lisa'' replicas.]]
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* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' story ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "City ofDeath" takes this to [[RefugeInAudacity ludicrous levels]]. The con: Death", the con is that Count Scarlioni plans to steal the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre. He's set up a silent auction among a group of unscrupulous art collectors who think they're about to get the most valuable painting in the world, and they mail in their checks. Here's how it would normally work: The thief would steal the ''Mona Lisa'', only for the Count to refuse it. The Count gets the money, the thief goes to prison, and the art collectors eat humble pie--they can't raise a fuss at the risk of incriminating themselves. Here's how it works on ''Doctor Who'': the six art collectors ''get'' their ''Mona Lisas'', each of which is a ''legitimate'' copy that was painted by [=daVinci=] himself. [[spoiler:The Count is really an alien splintered through time, and he's been working a long con throughout human history so that he can eventually save his own species at the cost of preventing humanity from ever existing. The good Doctor saves the day by aiming to visit [=daVinci=], missing intentionally, and writing "THIS IS A FAKE" in permanent marker on the canvases reserved for the commissioned ''Mona Lisa'' replicas.]]]]
* In the Fourth Doctor story "The Ribos Operation", the scripted backstory for the conman Garron was that he had fled Earth after successfully selling an alien warlord the Sydney Opera House. The accent that the Doctor remarks on--changed to Somerset in the filmed version--was originally supposed to be Australian. When Iain Cuthbertson was cast the Australian backstory went, but the titular operation still involves selling not just a landmark but an entire planet to an ambitious but obtuse noble.
** In "City of
* In the Fourth Doctor story "The Ribos Operation", the scripted backstory for the conman Garron was that he had fled Earth after successfully selling an alien warlord the Sydney Opera House. The accent that the Doctor remarks on--changed to Somerset in the filmed version--was originally supposed to be Australian. When Iain Cuthbertson was cast the Australian backstory went, but the titular operation still involves selling not just a landmark but an entire planet to an ambitious but obtuse noble.
* ''Series/TheATeam'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS4E5TheRoadToHope The Road to Hope]]", Hannibal, discussing how suspicious their latest client is, says she should be selling the Brooklyn bridge. Face [[ComicallyMissingThePoint responds that the Brooklyn bridge goes for more than she's offering]], which he knows [[ConMan thanks to pulling that particular con himself]].
* ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies'':
** The final season features a storyline where the Clampetts go to Washington and Jed is conned into buying the White House, the Capitol Building, and other landmarks. The previous season that same con man sold them the Statue of Liberty and Central Park.
** In another (earlier) episode, a con man attempts to sell Hong Kong to Jeb. Jethro believes that it is a giant ape (most likely he's thinking of ''Film/KingKong''), but the con man explains that Hong Kong is on the coast of China. Jeb turns him down, explaining that he has no need for a Chinese ape. He does convince him to buy Canada however
* ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies'':
** The final season features a storyline where the Clampetts go to Washington and Jed is conned into buying the White House, the Capitol Building, and other landmarks. The previous season that same con man sold them the Statue of Liberty and Central Park.
** In another (earlier) episode, a con man attempts to sell Hong Kong to Jeb. Jethro believes that it is a giant ape (most likely he's thinking of ''Film/KingKong''), but the con man explains that Hong Kong is on the coast of China. Jeb turns him down, explaining that he has no need for a Chinese ape. He does convince him to buy Canada however
[[folder:Music]]
* Inverted in George Strait's "Ocean Front Property," where he claims a number of negative feelings for his lover, then adds
-->''...and if you'll buy that\\
I've got some ocean front property in Arizona\\
From my front porch you can see the sea\\
I've got some ocean front property in Arizona\\
And if you'll buy that\\
I'll throw the Golden Gate in free.''
[[/folder]]
* Inverted in George Strait's "Ocean Front Property," where he claims a number of negative feelings for his lover, then adds
-->''...and if you'll buy that\\
I've got some ocean front property in Arizona\\
From my front porch you can see the sea\\
I've got some ocean front property in Arizona\\
And if you'll buy that\\
I'll throw the Golden Gate in free.''
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
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* African-American female wrestler "Bonesaw" Jessie Brooks calls her [[SuplexFinisher German Suplex finisher]] The Brooklyn Bridge. The [[AtrociousAlias problem]] is rooted in the old scam, since she would want her opponents to, well, [[TheatricsOfPain "sell"]] The Brooklyn Bridge.
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* Many episodes of ''Radio/TheLivesOfHarryLime''.
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* In the ''Radio/HancocksHalfHour'' episode "Agricultural 'Ancock", Sid sells Lord's Cricket Ground to Tony, and Bill mentions that someone tried to sell him Sydney Cricket ground but, at the time, he had no money left after buying Sydney Harbour Bridge. Bill goes on to mention that he was still having a fight against Sydney Borough Council about who owns the bridge.
[[folder:Theatre]]
* In "Things to Remember" from ''The Roar of the Greasepaint--The Smell of the Crowd'', Sir advises the Kid:
-->Never buy London Bridge from a stranger,\\
Unless you can make a few bob on the sale.
[[/folder]]
* In "Things to Remember" from ''The Roar of the Greasepaint--The Smell of the Crowd'', Sir advises the Kid:
-->Never buy London Bridge from a stranger,\\
Unless you can make a few bob on the sale.
[[/folder]]
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* A driver of the plot of ''VideoGame/Yakuza0''. [[spoiler:Tachibana Real Estate are slowly but surely driving out or buying out all of the tenants around a part of Kamurocho in order to bulldoze it for a lucrative new development, the Millennium Tower. The [[{{Yakuza}} Tojo Clan]] are attempting to do the same thing to the same end, only less effectually; Tachibana plays dirty, hiring homeless people to intimidate existing tenants and reduce property values and in one case ''literally'' throwing money at them to bribe them to leave. The entirety of the plot is driven by both sides' attempt to locate and either buy out or silence the absent owner of a small pocket of derelict land slap bang in the middle of the proposed development. The Tojo Clan eventually win out, and Tachibana Real Estate is presumed to have died with its owner. The brighter point in that is that Tachibana's goal was to reunite with his sister, not to gain profits from the property, while Shintaro Kazama arranges it so that the development project stays out of Sohei Dojima's hands, undermining his power in the Tojo Clan.]]
to:
* A driver of the plot of ''VideoGame/Yakuza0''. [[spoiler:Tachibana Real Estate are slowly but surely driving out or buying out all of the tenants around a part of Kamurocho in order to bulldoze it for a lucrative new development, the Millennium Tower. The [[{{Yakuza}} Tojo Clan]] are attempting to do the same thing to the same end, only less effectually; Tachibana plays dirty, hiring homeless people to intimidate existing tenants and reduce property values and in one case ''literally'' throwing money at them to bribe them to leave. The entirety of the plot is driven by both sides' attempt to locate and either buy out or silence the absent owner of a small pocket of derelict land slap bang in the middle of the proposed development. The Tojo Clan eventually win out, and Tachibana Real Estate is presumed to have died with its owner. The brighter point in that is that Tachibana's goal was to reunite with his sister, not to gain profits from the property, while Shintaro Kazama Kazama
arranges it so that the development project stays out of Sohei Dojima's hands, undermining his power in the Tojo Clan.]]]]
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'':
** When a giant interdimensional starship appears in the slums district, one of the citizens will try and sell it to you. He also has one sales pitch to every NPC you can bring with you, all of whom know better than to accept. If you have Valygar with you he'll chase the conman off, seeing how it's technically "his" sphere since his ancestor built the thing. Strangely if you're a mage, you actually can get control of the thing yourself as your wizard's tower.
** Edwin also references the trope at one point by claiming that if you really believe the Cowled Wizards are good for their word, he has a bridge in Thesk to sell you.
* ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]]'' has this gem from Yoko.
-->'''Soma Cruz''': No way! He[[labelnote:*]][[spoiler:Graham]][[/labelnote]] did not look like a bad guy.
-->'''Yoko Belnades''': Right, and I've got a bridge to sell you! Don't be fooled by his appearance! He's not who you think he is.
* ''Moraff's Revenge'', an old CGA-DOS game, lets you purchase the city for 1 million gold. If you accept, the store owner mentions wanting to sell a bridge as well.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** Referenced when one goblin says something along the lines of, "If you're stupid enough to believe stuff like that, I've got a statue in Stranglethorn Vale to sell you!"
** There's also the rare drop item [Deed to Thandol Span]. Thandol Span is a massive bridge, making the item basically a [=WoW=] equivalent of a deed to the Golden Gate Bridge. The deed itself is classified as junk and as such has absolutely no use, but it fetches a high price from the vendors, and occasionally even from players who will buy it for its novelty value.
arranges it so that the development project stays out of Sohei Dojima's hands, undermining his power in the Tojo Clan.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'':
** When a giant interdimensional starship appears in the slums district, one of the citizens will try and sell it to you. He also has one sales pitch to every NPC you can bring with you, all of whom know better than to accept. If you have Valygar with you he'll chase the conman off, seeing how it's technically "his" sphere since his ancestor built the thing. Strangely if you're a mage, you actually can get control of the thing yourself as your wizard's tower.
** Edwin also references the trope at one point by claiming that if you really believe the Cowled Wizards are good for their word, he has a bridge in Thesk to sell you.
* ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]]'' has this gem from Yoko.
-->'''Soma Cruz''': No way! He[[labelnote:*]][[spoiler:Graham]][[/labelnote]] did not look like a bad guy.
-->'''Yoko Belnades''': Right, and I've got a bridge to sell you! Don't be fooled by his appearance! He's not who you think he is.
* ''Moraff's Revenge'', an old CGA-DOS game, lets you purchase the city for 1 million gold. If you accept, the store owner mentions wanting to sell a bridge as well.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** Referenced when one goblin says something along the lines of, "If you're stupid enough to believe stuff like that, I've got a statue in Stranglethorn Vale to sell you!"
** There's also the rare drop item [Deed to Thandol Span]. Thandol Span is a massive bridge, making the item basically a [=WoW=] equivalent of a deed to the Golden Gate Bridge. The deed itself is classified as junk and as such has absolutely no use, but it fetches a high price from the vendors, and occasionally even from players who will buy it for its novelty value.
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In TheRant of [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-06-23 this]] ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Dan makes a [[BlatantLies completely believable statement]], then informs anyone that believed him that he has a bridge to sell.
-->''It's a bridge and real and everything, and it goes somewhere people might want to go.''
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0675.html Haley's shopping budget]] includes a hefty "[[CloudCuckoolander Elan]] tax", which she expects he'll probably spend on bridges. In a desert town.
** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0548.html another strip]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist Redcloak]] tells an underling "But if you think for one round that Xykon gives a withered crap about the goblin race, I have a bridge to sell you [[Literature/BridgeToTerabithia to Terabithia]]."
[[/folder]]
* In TheRant of [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-06-23 this]] ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Dan makes a [[BlatantLies completely believable statement]], then informs anyone that believed him that he has a bridge to sell.
-->''It's a bridge and real and everything, and it goes somewhere people might want to go.''
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0675.html Haley's shopping budget]] includes a hefty "[[CloudCuckoolander Elan]] tax", which she expects he'll probably spend on bridges. In a desert town.
** In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0548.html another strip]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist Redcloak]] tells an underling "But if you think for one round that Xykon gives a withered crap about the goblin race, I have a bridge to sell you [[Literature/BridgeToTerabithia to Terabithia]]."
[[/folder]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
** In ''Bowery Bugs'' WesternAnimation/BugsBunny successfully sells the Brooklyn Bridge after telling the story of how a man made a dive from it (after being [[KarmicTrickster hounded and tricked]] by Bugs endlessly).
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheDucksters'', Porky Pig is a game show contestant who is offered such prizes as the Rocky Mountains, the La Brea Tar Pits, and the Rock of Gibraltar.
* Used as a BrickJoke in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TopCat'': T.C. goes to the doctor after a nasty fall. When Choo-Choo mentions this to Dibble, the latter snidely remarks that T.C. will try to sell him the Brooklyn Bridge ("[[ComicallyMissingThePoint I didn't even know it was for sale!]]" replies Choo-Choo). Sure enough, when the doctor begins discussing his fee, T.C. then tries to pay him with a "business opportunity": "I can't mention any names but it's about a certain bridge..."
* In the {{Creator/Filmation}} version of ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'', a con man tries to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle. They politely decline saying that they ''own'' the Brooklyn Bridge. When the con man scoffs, he is utterly stunned when an armored car immediately stops by the magpies with the latest proceeds from the toll for the Brooklyn Bridge.
* Played in a very strange way in the Finnish animation ''WesternAnimation/{{Pasila}}'', during the second season. The head of the police force, Repomies, has been, in his own words, tricked in a pyramid scheme and now claims to own a pyramid in Giza, Egypt. However, he had practically "sold" the landmark to himself. He had only been visiting a perfectly legitimate museum's Egypt exhibition, that advertised itself "See the pyramids!". Obviously, they just had scale models of the pyramids. Later, during his vacation to Egypt, Repomies wasn't allowed to enter his "very own pyramid" and became furious. Now, technically he didn't really lose any money since nobody was scamming him in the first place. However, all this leads him to order Pöysti to arrest Ramses II who inhabits "his pyramid". Before that, he actually tries to sell "his pyramid" to his colleagues. It should be noted that Repomies is a prime example of {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and a very senile one at that.
* Cosmo of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' apparently fell for a con.
-->'''Cosmo''': So that's what con means. I've been wondering ever since that guy sold me the Brooklyn Bridge.
* The ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Mudd's Passion" [[NoodleIncident mentions]] that [[ConMan Harry Mudd]] swindled the natives of one planet by selling them Starfleet Academy.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', near the Castle Garden immigration center in New York, a salesman is literally selling the Brooklyn Bridge.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has Steven Magnet, [[ItMakesSenseInContext a sea serpent]], [[ItMakesSenseInContext indirectly refer to it in conversation with a donkey]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy's'' parody of ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', the Duke and the King are introduced trying to scam Huck and Jim with this tactic. They don't make a convincing argument, though...
-->'''The Duke:''' Hi, we're fake-selling the Brooklyn Bridge!\\
'''The King:''' Don't call it "fake-selling!"\\
'''The Duke:''' We're REAL-selling the Brooklyn Bridge!\\
'''The King:''' Stop qualifying the selling!
** In ''Bowery Bugs'' WesternAnimation/BugsBunny successfully sells the Brooklyn Bridge after telling the story of how a man made a dive from it (after being [[KarmicTrickster hounded and tricked]] by Bugs endlessly).
** In ''WesternAnimation/TheDucksters'', Porky Pig is a game show contestant who is offered such prizes as the Rocky Mountains, the La Brea Tar Pits, and the Rock of Gibraltar.
* Used as a BrickJoke in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TopCat'': T.C. goes to the doctor after a nasty fall. When Choo-Choo mentions this to Dibble, the latter snidely remarks that T.C. will try to sell him the Brooklyn Bridge ("[[ComicallyMissingThePoint I didn't even know it was for sale!]]" replies Choo-Choo). Sure enough, when the doctor begins discussing his fee, T.C. then tries to pay him with a "business opportunity": "I can't mention any names but it's about a certain bridge..."
* In the {{Creator/Filmation}} version of ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'', a con man tries to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle. They politely decline saying that they ''own'' the Brooklyn Bridge. When the con man scoffs, he is utterly stunned when an armored car immediately stops by the magpies with the latest proceeds from the toll for the Brooklyn Bridge.
* Played in a very strange way in the Finnish animation ''WesternAnimation/{{Pasila}}'', during the second season. The head of the police force, Repomies, has been, in his own words, tricked in a pyramid scheme and now claims to own a pyramid in Giza, Egypt. However, he had practically "sold" the landmark to himself. He had only been visiting a perfectly legitimate museum's Egypt exhibition, that advertised itself "See the pyramids!". Obviously, they just had scale models of the pyramids. Later, during his vacation to Egypt, Repomies wasn't allowed to enter his "very own pyramid" and became furious. Now, technically he didn't really lose any money since nobody was scamming him in the first place. However, all this leads him to order Pöysti to arrest Ramses II who inhabits "his pyramid". Before that, he actually tries to sell "his pyramid" to his colleagues. It should be noted that Repomies is a prime example of {{Cloudcuckoolander}} and a very senile one at that.
* Cosmo of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' apparently fell for a con.
-->'''Cosmo''': So that's what con means. I've been wondering ever since that guy sold me the Brooklyn Bridge.
* The ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Mudd's Passion" [[NoodleIncident mentions]] that [[ConMan Harry Mudd]] swindled the natives of one planet by selling them Starfleet Academy.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail'', near the Castle Garden immigration center in New York, a salesman is literally selling the Brooklyn Bridge.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has Steven Magnet, [[ItMakesSenseInContext a sea serpent]], [[ItMakesSenseInContext indirectly refer to it in conversation with a donkey]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy's'' parody of ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', the Duke and the King are introduced trying to scam Huck and Jim with this tactic. They don't make a convincing argument, though...
-->'''The Duke:''' Hi, we're fake-selling the Brooklyn Bridge!\\
'''The King:''' Don't call it "fake-selling!"\\
'''The Duke:''' We're REAL-selling the Brooklyn Bridge!\\
'''The King:''' Stop qualifying the selling!
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* As mentioned above, "blockbusting" was an unfortunately common practice between the 1940s and 1960s. When relatively affluent African-American families were finally able to buy property in formerly all-white neighborhoods due to the gradual victories of the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, real estate moguls would intentionally play up the fear of (mainly working-class) whites, and say that their neighborhoods would become ghettos and their properties worthless. As a result, the moguls were able to buy up the properties at a severe discount, and then sell them back to the arriving black families at a steep mark-up. Black people still had lots of problems finding banks that would give them favorable mortgages, so the deals that they made were very exploitative. The black residents, therefore, had little extra money to put into repairs or upkeep, leading to an unintentional deterioration of the neighborhood. Thus, whites viewed the blacks moving into their neighborhood as a death sentence on their hard-earned property value, and blacks viewed whites as part of the system out to exploit them. The entire core of modern racism, all because of some cynical real-estate moguls. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was intended to deal with some of this, but at the end of the day it barely put a dent in the problem.
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* As mentioned above, "blockbusting" "Blockbusting" was an unfortunately common practice between the 1940s and 1960s. When relatively affluent African-American families were finally able to buy property in formerly all-white neighborhoods due to the gradual victories of the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, real estate moguls would intentionally play up the fear of (mainly working-class) whites, and say that their neighborhoods would become ghettos and their properties worthless. As a result, the moguls were able to buy up the properties at a severe discount, and then sell them back to the arriving black families at a steep mark-up. Black people still had lots of problems finding banks that would give them favorable mortgages, so the deals that they made were very exploitative. The black residents, therefore, had little extra money to put into repairs or upkeep, leading to an unintentional deterioration of the neighborhood. Thus, whites viewed the blacks moving into their neighborhood as a death sentence on their hard-earned property value, and blacks viewed whites as part of the system out to exploit them. The entire core of modern racism, all because of some cynical real-estate moguls. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was intended to deal with some of this, but at the end of the day it barely put a dent in the problem.
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* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Lustig Victor Lustig]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Parker George C. Parker]] are the most well-known perpetrators of this scheme in real life. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Furguson Arthur Furguson]] is another famous example though his existence might or might not be a hoax.
* And, in a subversion, a gentleman from Arizona bought [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City) London Bridge]] and the city of London duly dismantled it and shipped it out to Arizona. (They built [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge another one]] in its place). Rumor has it that the purchaser was dismayed because he thought he was buying the much more iconic [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_bridge Tower Bridge]], though the Other Wiki insists that this is not the case. He also made a profit on the sale (the value of the bridge as a tourist attraction raising the value of the land where it was placed, which he owned), so it doesn't really matter whether or not it was the bridge he meant to buy since he still came out ahead.
* When the Dutch bought the Manhattan peninsula from local natives, the people they negotiated with and who got the money were not actual owners of the land. But when the Dutch made an offer to buy the land, they gladly took the money.
* Those "name your own star" things you see on late-night TV (or in magazine adverts), [[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/826/can-you-pay-35-to-get-a-star-named-after-you as our friends at The Straight Dope elaborate here]].
* The actual Eiffel Tower ''has'' been sold... piecewise. Or more exactly, it [[TheseusShipParadox has been completely replaced part by part]] over time and the old parts were auctioned off.
* And, in a subversion, a gentleman from Arizona bought [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_(Lake_Havasu_City) London Bridge]] and the city of London duly dismantled it and shipped it out to Arizona. (They built [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge another one]] in its place). Rumor has it that the purchaser was dismayed because he thought he was buying the much more iconic [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_bridge Tower Bridge]], though the Other Wiki insists that this is not the case. He also made a profit on the sale (the value of the bridge as a tourist attraction raising the value of the land where it was placed, which he owned), so it doesn't really matter whether or not it was the bridge he meant to buy since he still came out ahead.
* When the Dutch bought the Manhattan peninsula from local natives, the people they negotiated with and who got the money were not actual owners of the land. But when the Dutch made an offer to buy the land, they gladly took the money.
* Those "name your own star" things you see on late-night TV (or in magazine adverts), [[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/826/can-you-pay-35-to-get-a-star-named-after-you as our friends at The Straight Dope elaborate here]].
* The actual Eiffel Tower ''has'' been sold... piecewise. Or more exactly, it [[TheseusShipParadox has been completely replaced part by part]] over time and the old parts were auctioned off.
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* At the end of ''Film/TheDamBusters'', a high-ranking official shakes the hand of the scientist that pitched the plan for StuffBlowingUp: "I didn't believe you, but now you could sell me the Brooklyn Bridge!"
* ''Film/GoingPostal'', from the book by the same name, upon recounting Von Lipwig's cons, shows a newspaper frontpage with the headline reading: "Conman sells city bridge -- Three times!"
* Referenced in ''[[Creator/LaurelAndHardy Way Out West]]'':
-->'''Stan:''' That's the first mistake we've made since that fellow sold us the Brooklyn Bridge.\\
'''Ollie:''' Buying that bridge was no mistake. That's going to be worth a lot of money to us someday!
* Italian actor Totò sold nothing less than the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) to a gullible american tourist in "Totòtruffa '62" ("Totòscam '62").
* ''Film/GoingPostal'', from the book by the same name, upon recounting Von Lipwig's cons, shows a newspaper frontpage with the headline reading: "Conman sells city bridge -- Three times!"
* Referenced in ''[[Creator/LaurelAndHardy Way Out West]]'':
-->'''Stan:''' That's the first mistake we've made since that fellow sold us the Brooklyn Bridge.\\
'''Ollie:''' Buying that bridge was no mistake. That's going to be worth a lot of money to us someday!
* Italian actor Totò sold nothing less than the Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) to a gullible american tourist in "Totòtruffa '62" ("Totòscam '62").
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* This in the ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/GoingPostal'', ConMan Moist von Lipwig views a real ring and a fake ring as part of his basic tools for emergencies. When the man wants to have it valued and they go to an actual jeweler he shows the man a real diamond ring. Reassured that it's real the mark then buys the ring, and when he takes it back to the jeweler to sell he's informed that it's brass and glass. His backup plan, if he can't source the real ring, is to walk through the motions of this con... and then make the trade almost immediately thereafter, without any time for a switch, with the aim of proving to the mark that this relatively well-known con isn't going on. The trick here is that Moist bribed the jeweler ahead of time to testify that his glass ring was real.
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* This in the ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'' novel ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'':
** In ''Literature/GoingPostal'', ConMan Moist von Lipwig views a real ring and a fake ring as part of his basic tools for emergencies. When the man wants to have it valued and they go to an actual jeweler he shows the man a real diamond ring. Reassured that it's real the mark then buys the ring, and when he takes it back to the jeweler to sell he's informed that it's brass and glass. His backup plan, if he can't source the real ring, is to walk through the motions of this con... and then make the trade almost immediately thereafter, without any time for a switch, with the aim of proving to the mark that this relatively well-known con isn't going on. The trick here is that Moist bribed the jeweler ahead of time to testify that his glass ring wasreal.real.
** ''The Literature/{{Discworld}} [[UniverseCompendium Companion]]'' notes that Ankh-Morporkians provide essential services for the rural people of the Sto Plains "such as selling them the Brass Bridge at a cut-down price".
** In ''Literature/GoingPostal'', ConMan Moist von Lipwig views a real ring and a fake ring as part of his basic tools for emergencies. When the man wants to have it valued and they go to an actual jeweler he shows the man a real diamond ring. Reassured that it's real the mark then buys the ring, and when he takes it back to the jeweler to sell he's informed that it's brass and glass. His backup plan, if he can't source the real ring, is to walk through the motions of this con... and then make the trade almost immediately thereafter, without any time for a switch, with the aim of proving to the mark that this relatively well-known con isn't going on. The trick here is that Moist bribed the jeweler ahead of time to testify that his glass ring was
** ''The Literature/{{Discworld}} [[UniverseCompendium Companion]]'' notes that Ankh-Morporkians provide essential services for the rural people of the Sto Plains "such as selling them the Brass Bridge at a cut-down price".
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* In the ''Star Trek'' novel ''Literature/SpocksWorld'', Dr. [=McCoy=] offers to sell Spock a bridge "with a great view of Brooklyn" after working out he'd been deceived by the person who engineered the Vulcan secession crisis. Specifically, that said person was lying about how they'd financed the grand-scale bribery that made it possible.
* Subverted in the first book of the ''Literature/StarTrekMillennium'' series, when Vic, in his lounge-singer milieu, tries to use the expression... except only the local FanOfThePast knows what the Brooklyn Bridge was, and they end up [[DistractingDisambiguation distracted by]] the fact that in the future, it ''was'' sold to a theme park on the moon as a tourist attraction.
* In the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Literature/NewSeriesAdventures'' novel ''Big Bang Generation'', the Doctor, posing as a master con-artist, claims to have sold the Sydney Opera House to five different people. The actual con-artist he's talking to doesn't believe a word of it.
* Creator/DavidMacaulay's lavishly illustrated series of young adult books on the construction of various types of buildings (''Castle'', ''Cathedral'', ''City'', and so forth) has a book entitled ''Unbuilding'' that plays with this trope. The plot revolves around an elaborate scheme by a Middle Eastern prince to buy the Empire State Building, dismantle it piece by piece, and ship it overseas to be rebuilt as a landmark in his home country. Most of the book consists of detailed descriptions and intricate illustrations of the many steps that this enormous disassembly process would require. This trope is ultimately subverted in that [[spoiler:the ''buyer'' turns out to be the real con artist. At the end of the book, the ship carrying the pieces of the Empire State Building mysteriously sinks in the Atlantic. The prince then collects on an insurance policy that he had taken out on it - a policy worth far more than what he had paid for the building.]]
* In ''Literature/TheRedTent'', [[LemonyNarrator Dinah]] says this phrase almost word-for-word to the audience, in reference to [[WordOfDante a belief]] that her mother Leah's eyes had been damaged or worn out by crying over the prospect of being married off to Jacob's "wicked" brother [[BiblicalBadGuy Esau]]. (In [[Literature/TheBible the source material]], Leah's [[WhatBeautifulEyes eyes]] are described with a word meaning (depending on your translation) "lovely," "delicate," "weak," "gentle," "tired," or "weary." In TRT, she has heterochromia, which got her [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer teased and ridiculed]] by men and boys living nearby.)
* Subverted in the first book of the ''Literature/StarTrekMillennium'' series, when Vic, in his lounge-singer milieu, tries to use the expression... except only the local FanOfThePast knows what the Brooklyn Bridge was, and they end up [[DistractingDisambiguation distracted by]] the fact that in the future, it ''was'' sold to a theme park on the moon as a tourist attraction.
* In the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Literature/NewSeriesAdventures'' novel ''Big Bang Generation'', the Doctor, posing as a master con-artist, claims to have sold the Sydney Opera House to five different people. The actual con-artist he's talking to doesn't believe a word of it.
* Creator/DavidMacaulay's lavishly illustrated series of young adult books on the construction of various types of buildings (''Castle'', ''Cathedral'', ''City'', and so forth) has a book entitled ''Unbuilding'' that plays with this trope. The plot revolves around an elaborate scheme by a Middle Eastern prince to buy the Empire State Building, dismantle it piece by piece, and ship it overseas to be rebuilt as a landmark in his home country. Most of the book consists of detailed descriptions and intricate illustrations of the many steps that this enormous disassembly process would require. This trope is ultimately subverted in that [[spoiler:the ''buyer'' turns out to be the real con artist. At the end of the book, the ship carrying the pieces of the Empire State Building mysteriously sinks in the Atlantic. The prince then collects on an insurance policy that he had taken out on it - a policy worth far more than what he had paid for the building.]]
* In ''Literature/TheRedTent'', [[LemonyNarrator Dinah]] says this phrase almost word-for-word to the audience, in reference to [[WordOfDante a belief]] that her mother Leah's eyes had been damaged or worn out by crying over the prospect of being married off to Jacob's "wicked" brother [[BiblicalBadGuy Esau]]. (In [[Literature/TheBible the source material]], Leah's [[WhatBeautifulEyes eyes]] are described with a word meaning (depending on your translation) "lovely," "delicate," "weak," "gentle," "tired," or "weary." In TRT, she has heterochromia, which got her [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer teased and ridiculed]] by men and boys living nearby.)
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* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' Calvin tries to sell ''Earth'' to some aliens.
* In Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/ThargsFutureShocks'' strip "Grawks Bearing Gifts" in ''Comicbook/TwoThousandAD'', the Grawks are alien (and stereotypically Australian) tourists, who have people lining up to play this con on them, until [[spoiler: they reveal that under Galactic Law ''all these sales are valid'', and they now own the planet]].
* In Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/ThargsFutureShocks'' strip "Grawks Bearing Gifts" in ''Comicbook/TwoThousandAD'', the Grawks are alien (and stereotypically Australian) tourists, who have people lining up to play this con on them, until [[spoiler: they reveal that under Galactic Law ''all these sales are valid'', and they now own the planet]].
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* Creator/WaltDisney provides at least three examples:
** In one José Carioca story, José gets out of an American jail by paying his bail with Sugarloaf Mountain in Brazil. Later he gets himself a disguise by trading a random key, which he claims is for the Sugarloaf Mountain cable car, for a random person's clothes. And in another story aliens come to Earth to sell the moon to humans, when they try selling it to José, he ends selling the Sugarloaf Mountain to them.
** In a Mickey Mouse story, Goofy gets conned into "buying" the Eiffel Tower during a vacation with Mickey in France, prompting Mickey to look for the con man and bring him to justice. At the end of the story when everything is resolved, Goofy announces to Mickey that [[HereWeGoAgain he bought Notre Dame]], causing Mickey to faint... [[SubvertedTrope but then Goofy takes out a scale model of the cathedral from his bag]].
** [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] once buys the actual deed for the Castle Sforzesco in Milan from a thief who happened to pick it up. The purchase isn't remotely legitimate, of course, but because the story needs an IdiotPlot to lead to a faux-medieval battle over the castle, the offended officials of the city basically recognise his claim because he shoots at them with a cannon when they try to disagree.
** An Uncle Scrooge story has Scrooge and his nephews trying to buy famous landmarks from all over the world. Everybody just angrily tells him no, until he gets to "buy" the Cheops pyramid from a local huckster in Cairo.
* In a ''ComicBook/LePetitSpirou'' book, Spirou and his friend sells the local church to a RichInDollarsPoorInSense {{Eagleland}}er.
* Goes awry in at least one ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comic -- an alien buys (the Metropolis equivalent of) the Brooklyn Bridge, then miniaturizes it and carries it off.
** In one José Carioca story, José gets out of an American jail by paying his bail with Sugarloaf Mountain in Brazil. Later he gets himself a disguise by trading a random key, which he claims is for the Sugarloaf Mountain cable car, for a random person's clothes. And in another story aliens come to Earth to sell the moon to humans, when they try selling it to José, he ends selling the Sugarloaf Mountain to them.
** In a Mickey Mouse story, Goofy gets conned into "buying" the Eiffel Tower during a vacation with Mickey in France, prompting Mickey to look for the con man and bring him to justice. At the end of the story when everything is resolved, Goofy announces to Mickey that [[HereWeGoAgain he bought Notre Dame]], causing Mickey to faint... [[SubvertedTrope but then Goofy takes out a scale model of the cathedral from his bag]].
** [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] once buys the actual deed for the Castle Sforzesco in Milan from a thief who happened to pick it up. The purchase isn't remotely legitimate, of course, but because the story needs an IdiotPlot to lead to a faux-medieval battle over the castle, the offended officials of the city basically recognise his claim because he shoots at them with a cannon when they try to disagree.
** An Uncle Scrooge story has Scrooge and his nephews trying to buy famous landmarks from all over the world. Everybody just angrily tells him no, until he gets to "buy" the Cheops pyramid from a local huckster in Cairo.
* In a ''ComicBook/LePetitSpirou'' book, Spirou and his friend sells the local church to a RichInDollarsPoorInSense {{Eagleland}}er.
* Goes awry in at least one ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comic -- an alien buys (the Metropolis equivalent of) the Brooklyn Bridge, then miniaturizes it and carries it off.
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[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' does this in the Streamline dub when Jigen expresses his incredulity at what Lupin's studying after the Philosopher's Stone job.
-->'''Jigen:''' If you buy that, I've got some Siberian beachfront property on sale.
[[/folder]]
* ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' does this in the Streamline dub when Jigen expresses his incredulity at what Lupin's studying after the Philosopher's Stone job.
-->'''Jigen:''' If you buy that, I've got some Siberian beachfront property on sale.
[[/folder]]
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* RealEstateScam
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[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* A weird variant in one of the ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' short stories from ''Wolf and Raven'': a CorruptCorporateExecutive is conspiring with racist gangs to drive out or kill elves living in a particular neighborhood. The twist is that he's not trying to buy the elves' property cheap, but to change the demographics of the neighborhood, so it'll be the ideal location for test-marketing his company's products. Same methods, different profit motive.
[[/folder]]
* A weird variant in one of the ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' short stories from ''Wolf and Raven'': a CorruptCorporateExecutive is conspiring with racist gangs to drive out or kill elves living in a particular neighborhood. The twist is that he's not trying to buy the elves' property cheap, but to change the demographics of the neighborhood, so it'll be the ideal location for test-marketing his company's products. Same methods, different profit motive.
[[/folder]]
* "Nothing brings down real estate prices like a good old fashioned gang war" -- said by Avery Carrington in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' and Donald Love in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''.
* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', one of the minigames available is 'Septic Avenger', where you ride around in a septic-truck and spray property with crap to lower the values. Ironically, this is feasible because of Ultor's reconstruction of the once-embattled Saints Row district, turning it into an upscale office-park... and creating a severe shortage of low-price housing. Meaning that hard-working low-income families are willing to buy a cheap house even if it's covered in crap. (The realtor-term is "Fixer-upper".)
* [[spoiler:A big scam drives the plot of]] ''VideoGame/LANoire''. [[spoiler:The Suburban Redevelopment Fund, a cabal of several prominent local officials and citizens, buys up land along the proposed route of the new freeway, building cheap houses on them to drive up the value when the government offers to buy them out under eminent domain.]]
* A driver of the plot of ''VideoGame/Yakuza0''. [[spoiler:Tachibana Real Estate are slowly but surely driving out or buying out all of the tenants around a part of Kamurocho in order to bulldoze it for a lucrative new development, the Millennium Tower. The [[{{Yakuza}} Tojo Clan]] are attempting to do the same thing to the same end, only less effectually; Tachibana plays dirty, hiring homeless people to intimidate existing tenants and reduce property values and in one case ''literally'' throwing money at them to bribe them to leave. The entirety of the plot is driven by both sides' attempt to locate and either buy out or silence the absent owner of a small pocket of derelict land slap bang in the middle of the proposed development. The Tojo Clan eventually win out, and Tachibana Real Estate is presumed to have died with its owner. The brighter point in that is that Tachibana's goal was to reunite with his sister, not to gain profits from the property, while Shintaro Kazama arranges it so that the development project stays out of Sohei Dojima's hands, undermining his power in the Tojo Clan.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', one of the minigames available is 'Septic Avenger', where you ride around in a septic-truck and spray property with crap to lower the values. Ironically, this is feasible because of Ultor's reconstruction of the once-embattled Saints Row district, turning it into an upscale office-park... and creating a severe shortage of low-price housing. Meaning that hard-working low-income families are willing to buy a cheap house even if it's covered in crap. (The realtor-term is "Fixer-upper".)
* [[spoiler:A big scam drives the plot of]] ''VideoGame/LANoire''. [[spoiler:The Suburban Redevelopment Fund, a cabal of several prominent local officials and citizens, buys up land along the proposed route of the new freeway, building cheap houses on them to drive up the value when the government offers to buy them out under eminent domain.]]
* A driver of the plot of ''VideoGame/Yakuza0''. [[spoiler:Tachibana Real Estate are slowly but surely driving out or buying out all of the tenants around a part of Kamurocho in order to bulldoze it for a lucrative new development, the Millennium Tower. The [[{{Yakuza}} Tojo Clan]] are attempting to do the same thing to the same end, only less effectually; Tachibana plays dirty, hiring homeless people to intimidate existing tenants and reduce property values and in one case ''literally'' throwing money at them to bribe them to leave. The entirety of the plot is driven by both sides' attempt to locate and either buy out or silence the absent owner of a small pocket of derelict land slap bang in the middle of the proposed development. The Tojo Clan eventually win out, and Tachibana Real Estate is presumed to have died with its owner. The brighter point in that is that Tachibana's goal was to reunite with his sister, not to gain profits from the property, while Shintaro Kazama arranges it so that the development project stays out of Sohei Dojima's hands, undermining his power in the Tojo Clan.]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': An episode involved Bart and Homer working as con artists. Grandpa Simpson pretended to help them, but secretly lured them into a trap where they were arrested by a government agent who robbed them and turned out to be a con artist. Bart and Homer made up a story to explain the robbery, which inadvertently led to Willie being arrested, put on trial, found guilty, and given a long prison sentence. Out of desperation, Willie steals a bailiff's gun and starts shooting. When Skinner is apparently killed[[note]] Actually a ruse with blanks, squibs, and a blood pack[[/note]]), Homer finally confesses, only for everyone else to admit their deception, down to the judge revealing himself to be Grandpa in a mask and wig. It turns out the whole town was working together to teach them a lesson.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
(( An episode involved Bart and Homer working as con artists. Grandpa Simpson pretended to help them, but secretly lured them into a trap where they were arrested by a government agent who robbed them and turned out to be a con artist. Bart and Homer made up a story to explain the robbery, which inadvertently led to Willie being arrested, put on trial, found guilty, and given a long prison sentence. Out of desperation, Willie steals a bailiff's gun and starts shooting. When Skinner is apparently killed[[note]] Actually a ruse with blanks, squibs, and a blood pack[[/note]]), Homer finally confesses, only for everyone else to admit their deception, down to the judge revealing himself to be Grandpa in a mask and wig. It turns out the whole town was working together to teach them a lesson.
(( An episode involved Bart and Homer working as con artists. Grandpa Simpson pretended to help them, but secretly lured them into a trap where they were arrested by a government agent who robbed them and turned out to be a con artist. Bart and Homer made up a story to explain the robbery, which inadvertently led to Willie being arrested, put on trial, found guilty, and given a long prison sentence. Out of desperation, Willie steals a bailiff's gun and starts shooting. When Skinner is apparently killed[[note]] Actually a ruse with blanks, squibs, and a blood pack[[/note]]), Homer finally confesses, only for everyone else to admit their deception, down to the judge revealing himself to be Grandpa in a mask and wig. It turns out the whole town was working together to teach them a lesson.
** The episode "Livin' La Pura Vida" has the Simpson family joining other Springfield families on the Van Houten's annual vacation to Costa Rica with Kirk and Luann saying that they will handle all the budgeting at the end of the trip. However, the Simpsons discover that the luxury villa they're staying in is actually ''owned'' by the Van Houtens and were lying to the other families so they can charge them top dollar for their "shared vacation" and pocket the money for themselves.
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* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has the kid's parents winning a free trip to a ski resort in Aspen in exchange for attending a presentation offering a timeshare, [[BlatantLies which they are free to decline at any time]]. They soon find out that they are unable to leave or actually enjoy the resort because the salesmen keep taking them back to the presentation room until they cave in and buy the expensive timeshare. When the parents call the police, they find out even the police are in on it! Along with other powerful authorities like the United States government. As it is, the salesmen ''will not'' take no for an answer.
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[[folder:Real Life]]
* As mentioned above, "blockbusting" was an unfortunately common practice between the 1940s and 1960s. When relatively affluent African-American families were finally able to buy property in formerly all-white neighborhoods due to the gradual victories of the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, real estate moguls would intentionally play up the fear of (mainly working-class) whites, and say that their neighborhoods would become ghettos and their properties worthless. As a result, the moguls were able to buy up the properties at a severe discount, and then sell them back to the arriving black families at a steep mark-up. Black people still had lots of problems finding banks that would give them favorable mortgages, so the deals that they made were very exploitative. The black residents, therefore, had little extra money to put into repairs or upkeep, leading to an unintentional deterioration of the neighborhood. Thus, whites viewed the blacks moving into their neighborhood as a death sentence on their hard-earned property value, and blacks viewed whites as part of the system out to exploit them. The entire core of modern racism, all because of some cynical real-estate moguls. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was intended to deal with some of this, but at the end of the day it barely put a dent in the problem.
* Eminent Domain fraud. Eminent Domain is the power by which governments can take land (while, theoretically, providing just compensation). Usually, this is to remove houses and buildings to make way for things like roads and utilities. The fraud kicks in when some companies claim to have eminent domain power when they don't, threatening to throw people out of their houses when they have no legal right to do so.
** Part of the controversy of the Keystone XL Pipeline is the claim that the company placing the pipeline is doing this to remove people who refuse to sell their land to them.
* When looking for a house or condo to buy or an apartment to rent, or even when seeking a vacation rental, be wary. Some unscrupulous "sellers" will attempt to sell a house or rent out a property they don't have authority to sell, in order to earn a quick buck. Be suspicious of sellers/landlords who are unwilling or "unable" to show a property (or have someone show it to you), or who demand money up front before you've signed the lease or even seen the property.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008 Bad mortgage and lending practices]] played a large role in the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swampland_in_Florida Swampland in Florida.]] They have been a nuisance to Florida for many years. Starting in the 1920s, unsuspecting investors would be told of prime but useless swampland that was dirt cheap. The investors, so quick to make an easy buck out of it, would purchase said land before ever placing eyes on it, blindly unaware that it is nearly impossible to develop. The Florida land boom of the 1920s was riff with such scams as it was the first real estate bubble in the state. One notable example is developers literally busing in customers and selling them shares in "towns" that were only vast plots of uninhabitable swampland with signs stating where the nonexistent buildings would be. Unfortunately, it is still running rampant due to the ability of buyers and sellers to purchase and sell land over the Internet.
** A variant of this occurs in the American Southwest, where scammers would sell off inaccessible desert land. The lots that are sold don't have access to utilities and are not accessible by road in many cases.
** {{Landmark Sale}}s. This is another variant, where scammers would often "sell" landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge to newly-arrived immigrants. Cops would often chase away George C. Parker's victims whenever they tried to establish toll booths on the bridge. "If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" is a phrase often attributed to Parker that implies someone is gullible.
* This is a real problem with vacation rentals such as [=AirBnB=] and VRBO. Landlords know they can make much more money with a vacation rental over the long run than they can by simply renting their property out to a long-term tenant. So they take out multiple leases or buy up property in a building or in a city to use as vacation rentals. This, of course, takes that real estate out of the market, which in turn drives up the cost of rent in the surrounding area, leaving longtime residents with no choice but to leave. Some have even been known to evict current tenants, just so they can use the vacant apartments/cottages/etc. as vacation rentals.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_real_estate Extraterrestrial real estate scams.]] This refers to so-called claims of land ownership on any part of outer space by hucksters and conmen. They are considered bogus, as the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 views space as an "international common" for the benefit of mankind and prohibits anyone from claiming jurisdiction. Nevertheless, the scam persists with crooks "selling" parts of outer space through titles of ownership termed "Lunar deeds," etc.
* In some places, there's also straight-up theft of real estate. Usually, this involves a vacant property with a deceased or otherwise absent owner in a neighborhood with rising values. This con centers on the fact that in many jurisdictions, a deed to property must be notarized, and that a notary must have proof of the grantor's (i.e. seller's) identity to make sure that the person selling/giving the property actually owns it. In one variant of the con, the hustler presents false identity documents to the (usually innocent and honest) notary "showing" that the person in front of them (usually the hustler's partner-in-crime) is the owner;[[note]]In some cases, however, the huckster will actually pretend to be the owner themselves, with the property being sold to a company they control. This takes advantage of the fact that in many places, the identity of the grantee/buyer of a property does not need to be verified and indeed the grantee does not even need to sign the deed.[[/note]] in another variant, the hustler cooperates with a crooked notary to "verify" deeds without any identity documents presented at all. Each variant has its own advantages and drawbacks; the first requires the con to get at least halfway decent forgeries, but doesn't require them to get a notary on payroll; the latter cuts out the need for a forger, but keeping a crooked notary happy can be expensive, and the operation is more vulnerable to interference (since the notary's commission could be revoked without a criminal proceeding). Since the actual owner is usually deceased or absent, it often takes the true owner or their heirs years to even notice that anything has changed, and since these fraudsters usually try to turn around and sell the properties to innocent third parties, it can create some major problems once discovered. UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} has had a [[https://www.inquirer.com/news/a/house-sales-fraud-theft-philadelphia-real-estate-dead-owners-william-johnson-20190124.html notable rash]] of these since the early 2010s at least, owing to the city's hot real estate market today after decades of hollowing out.
[[/folder]]
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** ''Series/CSIMiami'' has a murder take place in a neighborhood that turns out to be a plot to lower property values.
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* [[AmoralAttorney Maurice Levy]] from ''Series/TheWire'' constantly suggests his clients from Organized Crime turn to real estate; they do. One of the background subplots is that drug money is being funneled to State Sen. Clay Davis, who then tells Stringer which buildings are due to get revitalization grants so Stringer can buy them while they are still dirt cheap. [[spoiler:Clay Davis, however, is just being a SnakeOilSalesman to Stringer.]]
* The ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' episode "The Blockbuster" had the Bunkers dealing with the titular scammer.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Armund Tully is a slumlord that is using vandalism and intimidation to drive out his rent-control tenants. Matt, Karen and Foggy suspect that he is trying to build condos on the property. This would not be out of character for Tully, given his reputation with them and with the cops, but the reality is that Tully is in cahoots with Wilson Fisk. And Fisk does not care about making a profit on the property because he's giving it to Nobu and his faction of The Hand, who do not want the residents getting in the way of their plans to build Midland Circle on that valuable block of Manhattan real estate so they can mine for dragon bones.
* In the ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' episode that introduces Jefferson, Al mentions to Bud that he bought a cabin near the shore of Lake Chicamocomico with the money he scammed from Jefferson and Marcy's wedding. A minute later, Jefferson comes in and Al asks him why was he in prison, and he responds that he was arrested for selling plots of land on Lake Chicamocomico, a toxic waste dump, and brags that "the truly stupid are still sending in money." Several episodes later, when Jefferson and Marcy decide to skip town after agreeing to help the Bundys claim the prize money they were not qualified to win (Kelly was a spokes-girl for the company), the IRS swooped in and immediately took the winnings, saying it was to be used as restitution for Jefferson's Lake Chicamocomico scam.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In the ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' crossover episode, Sam, Dean, and Castiel get sucked into an episode of the cartoon, with Sam complaining that the real estate scams the Scooby Gang solve aren't good cons. It turns out, the villain of the week was using a ghost for his own real-estate scam.
* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': Neptune, CA, real estate mogul Dick Casablancas built a significant part of his fortune on overvalued properties, deliberately using false advertising and such. It's only after Veronica accidentally does an on-site inspection (while performing an investigation on Cassidy Casablancas' behalf into his stepmother's infidelity) and notices the discrepancy that she informs the authorities, forcing Dick Sr. to destroy all his documents and flee the country. She tries to get one of her favorite teachers, who invested heavily in the company, to get his money back, but he refuses because his money is already effectively gone, and he doesn't want to save himself by saddling someone else on the market with the loss.
* The ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' episode "The Blockbuster" had the Bunkers dealing with the titular scammer.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': Armund Tully is a slumlord that is using vandalism and intimidation to drive out his rent-control tenants. Matt, Karen and Foggy suspect that he is trying to build condos on the property. This would not be out of character for Tully, given his reputation with them and with the cops, but the reality is that Tully is in cahoots with Wilson Fisk. And Fisk does not care about making a profit on the property because he's giving it to Nobu and his faction of The Hand, who do not want the residents getting in the way of their plans to build Midland Circle on that valuable block of Manhattan real estate so they can mine for dragon bones.
* In the ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' episode that introduces Jefferson, Al mentions to Bud that he bought a cabin near the shore of Lake Chicamocomico with the money he scammed from Jefferson and Marcy's wedding. A minute later, Jefferson comes in and Al asks him why was he in prison, and he responds that he was arrested for selling plots of land on Lake Chicamocomico, a toxic waste dump, and brags that "the truly stupid are still sending in money." Several episodes later, when Jefferson and Marcy decide to skip town after agreeing to help the Bundys claim the prize money they were not qualified to win (Kelly was a spokes-girl for the company), the IRS swooped in and immediately took the winnings, saying it was to be used as restitution for Jefferson's Lake Chicamocomico scam.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In the ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' crossover episode, Sam, Dean, and Castiel get sucked into an episode of the cartoon, with Sam complaining that the real estate scams the Scooby Gang solve aren't good cons. It turns out, the villain of the week was using a ghost for his own real-estate scam.
* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': Neptune, CA, real estate mogul Dick Casablancas built a significant part of his fortune on overvalued properties, deliberately using false advertising and such. It's only after Veronica accidentally does an on-site inspection (while performing an investigation on Cassidy Casablancas' behalf into his stepmother's infidelity) and notices the discrepancy that she informs the authorities, forcing Dick Sr. to destroy all his documents and flee the country. She tries to get one of her favorite teachers, who invested heavily in the company, to get his money back, but he refuses because his money is already effectively gone, and he doesn't want to save himself by saddling someone else on the market with the loss.
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* A major part of the plot of the Creator/TimDorsey novel ''Triggerfish Twist''. A real estate dealer owns most of the houses on Triggerfish Lane, and is trying to buy up the rest so he can level all the houses on the street and build more expensive homes there he can sell at a profit. This plot involves deliberately stocking his rental houses with the most unruly tenants imaginable in an effort to drive their neighbors away.
* Part of Lockhart's plan to raise the capital to find his father and save his family home in Creator/TomSharpe's ''The Throwback''.
* One of these drives the plot in ''[[Literature/{{Dragaera}} Orca]]''. During a financial crisis some bankers squeeze money out of landholders with the threat of foreclosing on them, hoping to take the money and vanish once the bank collapses. Vlad is drawn into the plot by owing a favor to one tenant.
* ''Literature/JohnPutnamThatcher:'' The murder victim of ''Ashes to Ashes'' is a protest group leader trying to stop a parochial school from being torn down (along with the rest of the block) to build condos. The victim found out that he was tricked into starting the protest group solely to drive down the property values so his FalseFriend co-founder could buy several buildings cheap and then sabotage the protest group so the land would be expensive again once the development resumed. Interestingly, Thatcher notes that the scheme was actually legal, but that the killer, an aspiring politician, didn't want the bad publicity that would come with exposure.
* Part of Lockhart's plan to raise the capital to find his father and save his family home in Creator/TomSharpe's ''The Throwback''.
* One of these drives the plot in ''[[Literature/{{Dragaera}} Orca]]''. During a financial crisis some bankers squeeze money out of landholders with the threat of foreclosing on them, hoping to take the money and vanish once the bank collapses. Vlad is drawn into the plot by owing a favor to one tenant.
* ''Literature/JohnPutnamThatcher:'' The murder victim of ''Ashes to Ashes'' is a protest group leader trying to stop a parochial school from being torn down (along with the rest of the block) to build condos. The victim found out that he was tricked into starting the protest group solely to drive down the property values so his FalseFriend co-founder could buy several buildings cheap and then sabotage the protest group so the land would be expensive again once the development resumed. Interestingly, Thatcher notes that the scheme was actually legal, but that the killer, an aspiring politician, didn't want the bad publicity that would come with exposure.
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* The Corrupt Corporate Executive BigBad in ''Film/YouDontMessWithTheZohan'' tries to make the New York Israeli and Palestinian communities fight each other so he can buy off the neighbourhood and build a mall on top of it. When creating a conflict doesn't work out, they hire a group of neo-nazis to vandalize the neighbourhood.
* In ''Film/PoliceAcademy6CityUnderSiege'', the BigBad orchestrates a crimewave alongside an old bus route, which would soon be the route of a train line. The crimewave would then drive down property prices allowing him to buy them and then resell them when the train line is complete and the price skyrocketed. It's even lampshaded at the end:
-->'''Commisioner Hurst''': So you're saying all of this was nothing more than a real estate scam!?\\
''' Sgt. Hightower''': A billion-dollar real estate scam, sir.
* In ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', the conspiracy to buy Toon Town and turn it into a paved highway.
* ''Film/BlazingSaddles'': The railroad line currently being built has to be re-routed through the town of Rock Ridge. BigBad Hedley Lamaar comes up with a scheme to drive out the town's residents and acquire the land cheaply, then sell it for millions to the railroad company.
-->'''Hedley Lamarr:''' Unfortunately, there is one thing standing between me and that property: the rightful owners.
* ''Film/{{Superman}}'' -- Lex Luthor's plot to buy up all the cheap land in the desert bordering California before blowing up the fault line and turning that desert into beach front real estate.
* In ''Film/SupermanReturns'', Lex wants to create a new continent in the Atlantic Ocean, destroying half of the US in the process, and then sell it at a premium.
* Subplot out of ''Film/EvanAlmighty'' -- The main character Evan, who is a congressman, cosponsors the destruction of a natural forest for urban development.
* One of the main characters of ''Film/AnEducation'' partakes in "blockbusting": a scam often performed prior to the 1970s in which a ShadyRealEstateAgent would convince white homeowners into selling their homes at a loss to them by implying that black people or other racial minorities would move into the neighborhood and cause property prices to plummet.
* In ''Film/RurouniKenshin'', Kanryu starts up the fake Battousai murders to scare the locals into selling out and moving so he can turn the village into a port he controls so he can ship guns and drugs without the risk of being caught by the police.
* In ''Film/RomeoMustDie'', two gangs are trying to buy up every property in a part of the city, because the NFL wants to build a new football stadium nearby, and providing a properly sized plot of land with only one or two owners to deal with instead of dozens would save the NFL a great deal of effort and make the gangs millions.
* ''Film/SharkAttack'': It turns out that the mayor is responsible for the surge in shark attacks (who were spiked with hormones that made them more aggressive), as he intends to drive down real estate prices so he could buy out the whole town.
* The Deputy Prime Minister in ''Film/AliGIndahouse'' plans to raze Staines so that Heathrow Airport can be expanded.
* In ''Film/PoliceAcademy6CityUnderSiege'', the BigBad orchestrates a crimewave alongside an old bus route, which would soon be the route of a train line. The crimewave would then drive down property prices allowing him to buy them and then resell them when the train line is complete and the price skyrocketed. It's even lampshaded at the end:
-->'''Commisioner Hurst''': So you're saying all of this was nothing more than a real estate scam!?\\
''' Sgt. Hightower''': A billion-dollar real estate scam, sir.
* In ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', the conspiracy to buy Toon Town and turn it into a paved highway.
* ''Film/BlazingSaddles'': The railroad line currently being built has to be re-routed through the town of Rock Ridge. BigBad Hedley Lamaar comes up with a scheme to drive out the town's residents and acquire the land cheaply, then sell it for millions to the railroad company.
-->'''Hedley Lamarr:''' Unfortunately, there is one thing standing between me and that property: the rightful owners.
* ''Film/{{Superman}}'' -- Lex Luthor's plot to buy up all the cheap land in the desert bordering California before blowing up the fault line and turning that desert into beach front real estate.
* In ''Film/SupermanReturns'', Lex wants to create a new continent in the Atlantic Ocean, destroying half of the US in the process, and then sell it at a premium.
* Subplot out of ''Film/EvanAlmighty'' -- The main character Evan, who is a congressman, cosponsors the destruction of a natural forest for urban development.
* One of the main characters of ''Film/AnEducation'' partakes in "blockbusting": a scam often performed prior to the 1970s in which a ShadyRealEstateAgent would convince white homeowners into selling their homes at a loss to them by implying that black people or other racial minorities would move into the neighborhood and cause property prices to plummet.
* In ''Film/RurouniKenshin'', Kanryu starts up the fake Battousai murders to scare the locals into selling out and moving so he can turn the village into a port he controls so he can ship guns and drugs without the risk of being caught by the police.
* In ''Film/RomeoMustDie'', two gangs are trying to buy up every property in a part of the city, because the NFL wants to build a new football stadium nearby, and providing a properly sized plot of land with only one or two owners to deal with instead of dozens would save the NFL a great deal of effort and make the gangs millions.
* ''Film/SharkAttack'': It turns out that the mayor is responsible for the surge in shark attacks (who were spiked with hormones that made them more aggressive), as he intends to drive down real estate prices so he could buy out the whole town.
* The Deputy Prime Minister in ''Film/AliGIndahouse'' plans to raze Staines so that Heathrow Airport can be expanded.
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* The TV movie, ''The Cover Girl Murders." On a remote island, Rex (Lee Majors) a ruthless and greedy magazine owner fighting a hostile takeover, gets his models together for a big issue. One by one, they're killed off as suspicions grow huge. Attacked by one model accusing him of being the killer, Rex shoots her in self-defense and his long-time aide says he'll keep it quiet in exchange for Rex signing over half the company to him. Rex does so...[[spoiler: at which point, all the "murdered victims" walk in with smiles, revealing they're the new board of directors for the company and this whole thing has been one massive scam to get back at Rex for his behavior and also save the magazine from his mismanagement. They leave the island with Rex just sitting stunned at how this could happen.]]
* Happens twice in the poker film ''Film/{{Shade}}'':
* Happens twice in the poker film ''Film/{{Shade}}'':
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* The TV movie, ''The Cover Girl Murders." ''Film/TheCoverGirlMurders''. On a remote island, Rex (Lee Majors) a ruthless and greedy magazine owner fighting a hostile takeover, gets his models together for a big issue. One by one, they're killed off as suspicions grow huge. Attacked by one model accusing him of being the killer, Rex shoots her in self-defense and his long-time aide says he'll keep it quiet in exchange for Rex signing over half the company to him. Rex does so...[[spoiler: at which point, all the "murdered victims" walk in with smiles, revealing they're the new board of directors for the company and this whole thing has been one massive scam to get back at Rex for his behavior and also save the magazine from his mismanagement. They leave the island with Rex just sitting stunned at how this could happen.]]
* Happens twice in the poker film''Film/{{Shade}}'':''Film/Shade2003'':
* Happens twice in the poker film
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* ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'':
** The villains of book #15 (''The Cat Who Went Into the Closet''), who run the Park of Pink Sunsets, a mobile home park in Florida, are running one. [[spoiler: They trick their clients into making the park their heirs via blackmail and then poison them to ensure the victim doesn't pull out.]]
** In book #19 (''The Cat Who Tailed a Thief''), [[spoiler: Carter Lee James' restoration projects are all one big con, allowing him to swindle thousands from his victims]].
** The villains of book #15 (''The Cat Who Went Into the Closet''), who run the Park of Pink Sunsets, a mobile home park in Florida, are running one. [[spoiler: They trick their clients into making the park their heirs via blackmail and then poison them to ensure the victim doesn't pull out.]]
** In book #19 (''The Cat Who Tailed a Thief''), [[spoiler: Carter Lee James' restoration projects are all one big con, allowing him to swindle thousands from his victims]].
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* ''The Flim-Flam Man'' contains a lot of little con games instead of one big con.
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* ''The Flim-Flam Man'' ''Film/TheFlimFlamMan'' contains a lot of little con games instead of one big con.
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* In ''Anime/OnePieceFilmGold'', the Straw Hats fall victim to one when they get lured to come to the VIP area of the casino they're in and tricked into playing a game of Craps against the owner of the boat their on, Guild Tesoro. After they end up losing (thanks to one of Guild's associates having a Devil Fruit power to steal luck), Guild reveals that everyone in the room, the workers and the guests, work for him and the whole thing was to put the Straw Hats under his debt.
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* In ''Anime/OnePieceFilmGold'', the Straw Hats fall victim to one when they get lured to come to the VIP area of the casino they're in and tricked into playing a game of Craps against the owner of the boat their they are on, Guild Tesoro. After they end up losing (thanks to one of Guild's associates having a Devil Fruit power to steal luck), Guild reveals that everyone in the room, the workers and the guests, work for him and the whole thing was to put the Straw Hats under his debt.
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* The Myth/ClassicalMythology story of King Minos: When asked to save Crete from a disaster, Poseidon agreed and sent a pure white bull to Minos and asked him to publicly sacrifice it after the disaster as a sign of respect. Instead, Minos swapped it out with a decently good but not divinely-granted bull, and as revenge Poseidon made his love Pasiphae fall in love with the white bull, thus begetting the Minotaur.
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* Myth/ClassicalMythology:
** TheMyth/ClassicalMythology story of King Minos: When asked to save Crete from a disaster, Poseidon agreed and sent a pure white bull to Minos and asked him to publicly sacrifice it after the disaster as a sign of respect. Instead, Minos swapped it out with a decently good but not divinely-granted bull, and as revenge Poseidon made his love Pasiphae fall in love with the white bull, thus begetting the Minotaur.Minotaur.
** One of the oldest cons involved Prometheus helping humanity out by killing a sacrificial ox and putting the meat and most of the fat into one big pile covered by organs, suspicious tubes and other squishy bits, then wrapping the bones rubbed with the rest of the fat in the animal's skin, setting the skin on fire, then asking the gods which one they wanted as a sacrifice. The gods much preferred the smell of the bone pile and chose that one, letting humanity keep the meat for themselves. In one version, realizing he's been tricked causes Zeus to curse the humans to be cold at night, causing Prometheus to give them fire and leading to his infamous punishment.
** The
** One of the oldest cons involved Prometheus helping humanity out by killing a sacrificial ox and putting the meat and most of the fat into one big pile covered by organs, suspicious tubes and other squishy bits, then wrapping the bones rubbed with the rest of the fat in the animal's skin, setting the skin on fire, then asking the gods which one they wanted as a sacrifice. The gods much preferred the smell of the bone pile and chose that one, letting humanity keep the meat for themselves. In one version, realizing he's been tricked causes Zeus to curse the humans to be cold at night, causing Prometheus to give them fire and leading to his infamous punishment.
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Moving examples from Massive Multiplayer Scam
* In ''Anime/OnePieceFilmGold'', the Straw Hats fall victim to one when they get lured to come to the VIP area of the casino they're in and tricked into playing a game of Craps against the owner of the boat their on, Guild Tesoro. After they end up losing (thanks to one of Guild's associates having a Devil Fruit power to steal luck), Guild reveals that everyone in the room, the workers and the guests, work for him and the whole thing was to put the Straw Hats under his debt.
[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* The ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'' story "Take Me To Your Leader" revolves around an alien visitation -- complete with flying saucer, heat rays, MissingTime incidents, and all the trimmings -- witnessed by a disparate group of people under circumstances that make it unlikely any trickery could have fooled all of them. It turns out that it's an elaborate con aimed at one man, a respected scientist with the ear of the British government, and everybody else present for the incident is in on it. After uncovering the truth, Modesty remarks that it's possibly the one explanation even less likely than it actually being aliens.
[[/folder]]
* The ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'' story "Take Me To Your Leader" revolves around an alien visitation -- complete with flying saucer, heat rays, MissingTime incidents, and all the trimmings -- witnessed by a disparate group of people under circumstances that make it unlikely any trickery could have fooled all of them. It turns out that it's an elaborate con aimed at one man, a respected scientist with the ear of the British government, and everybody else present for the incident is in on it. After uncovering the truth, Modesty remarks that it's possibly the one explanation even less likely than it actually being aliens.
[[/folder]]
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* ''Film/DirtyRottenScoundrels'': two men trying to scam a girl by way of pretending they are competing with each other to see who gets all the money... [[spoiler:and then it turns out that the girl is ''an even better'' scammer, using them both as pawns to get money herself.]]
* ''Film/ThirtySixHours1965'': Just before D-Day in 1944 the Germans try to get an American intelligence officer to reveal the time and location of the landings by setting up an entire fake American military hospital and convincing him that it is 1950 and that he has had amnesia and forgotten the last six years.
* The TV movie, ''The Cover Girl Murders." On a remote island, Rex (Lee Majors) a ruthless and greedy magazine owner fighting a hostile takeover, gets his models together for a big issue. One by one, they're killed off as suspicions grow huge. Attacked by one model accusing him of being the killer, Rex shoots her in self-defense and his long-time aide says he'll keep it quiet in exchange for Rex signing over half the company to him. Rex does so...[[spoiler: at which point, all the "murdered victims" walk in with smiles, revealing they're the new board of directors for the company and this whole thing has been one massive scam to get back at Rex for his behavior and also save the magazine from his mismanagement. They leave the island with Rex just sitting stunned at how this could happen.]]
* Happens twice in the poker film ''Film/{{Shade}}'':
** Small-time hustler Larry hooks up with crew Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon. The plan is to have Larry win big on Vernon's crooked deals so no one will suspect Larry of cheating. Larry gets impatient and on his own crooked deal gets $100,000 in the pot, including money that belongs to Larry's mobster boss, and loses. [[spoiler:The whole thing turns out to be a scam by the entire game to take Larry's boss's money]].
** In the film's climactic final game, Vernon is going up against legendary underground player The Dean, who he discovers is using a marked deck. In the final hand he deals the Dean Kings and Queens with one Queen in the hole and himself two Jacks with a seven in the hole. With $2,000,000 in the pot at showdown Vernon switches his hole seven for a Jack for three-of-a-kind. However, the Dean has switched out his hole King for a Queen make a higher three-of-a-kind. [[spoiler:The next day the Dean and Vernon meet up to split the cash. The whole thing was a scheme between them to rip off Charlie and Tiffany]].
* ''Film/{{Derailed}}'' has Charles (Creator/CliveOwen), a married man, meeting up with Lucinda (Creator/JenniferAniston) and soon intrigued by her and her tales of her late daughter. They share a hotel room only for a man to burst in, beat Charles down and rape Lucinda in front of him. The man then calls Charles and demands a huge payoff or he'll reveal the affair to his family (the same reason why Charles can't report Lucinda's rape to the police). Charles gets his friend Winston to try and scare the blackmailer off only for Winston to be shot dead and holds Lucinda hostage to get Charles to pay up. Charles does and tries to move on with his life, going to see Lucinda one last time at her office...[[spoiler: and meets a completely different woman who identifies "Lucinda" as her temp, Jane. Charles realizes this whole thing was a massive scam and finds Jane already pulling another mark into a romance where the "attacker" (her real husband) is ready, pushing Charles to pull his own scam in retaliation.]]
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* In ''Literature/TheOregonFiles'' book ''The Golden Buddha'', in order to [[MakesSenseInContext free Tibet]], The Corporation is hired to steal the eponymous Golden Buddha from an entrepreneur with [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triad]] connections during a party. They end up impersonating everyone from the band, to security guards to a mercy flight helicopter pilot. The only ones who aren't involved in the con are the police and most of the guests.
* In ''Literature/TheMugAndSpoon'', an entire town is involved in a con that had been going on for at least fifteen years. [[spoiler:A local girl is groomed to pose as a princess]]. The townspeople spread a rumour about a princess who was put under a sleeping spell and found by the town’s innkeepers. A would-be rescuer arrives to try TrueLovesKiss. [[spoiler:As he dines at the inn, the innkeepers ask him about his financial situation and the girl eavesdrops from the next room. After he finishes dinner, she lies down in a gilded coffin and pretends to be asleep. If she thinks him good enough, she "wakes up" after his kiss, and if not, she waits for a richer guy. When she "wakes up", marries and leaves, another girl steps in to take her place]]. Repeat on infinite.
* In ''Literature/TheMugAndSpoon'', an entire town is involved in a con that had been going on for at least fifteen years. [[spoiler:A local girl is groomed to pose as a princess]]. The townspeople spread a rumour about a princess who was put under a sleeping spell and found by the town’s innkeepers. A would-be rescuer arrives to try TrueLovesKiss. [[spoiler:As he dines at the inn, the innkeepers ask him about his financial situation and the girl eavesdrops from the next room. After he finishes dinner, she lies down in a gilded coffin and pretends to be asleep. If she thinks him good enough, she "wakes up" after his kiss, and if not, she waits for a richer guy. When she "wakes up", marries and leaves, another girl steps in to take her place]]. Repeat on infinite.
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* ''Series/CharliesAngels'' had several episodes like this. One involved getting a compulsive gambler thief to lose his ill gotten gains in order to force him to steal again at a time and place of the heroes' choosing, so the police would have the evidence to arrest him. Another involved conning a conman in order to recoup his victims' money.
* Two episodes of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' featured criminals pulling scams ''on the cops'' (with variable success).
** In "The Finger," a man murders his mistress, then sets up a fake kidnapping to make it look like someone else did it.
** In "Suckers," a casino security chief arranges a fake murder...which is a cover for the theft of a priceless antique... which is a cover for a heist from the casino's vault... [[spoiler: which is the cover for a massive insurance scam]]. While the mastermind doesn't get arrested, Grissom does [[spoiler:give all his evidence (circumstantial at best) to the insurance company. Presumably, they require less proof to deny a claim]].
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "City of Death" takes this to [[RefugeInAudacity ludicrous levels]]. The con: Count Scarlioni plans to steal the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre. He's set up a silent auction among a group of unscrupulous art collectors who think they're about to get the most valuable painting in the world, and they mail in their checks. Here's how it would normally work: The thief would steal the ''Mona Lisa'', only for the Count to refuse it. The Count gets the money, the thief goes to prison, and the art collectors eat humble pie--they can't raise a fuss at the risk of incriminating themselves. Here's how it works on ''Doctor Who'': the six art collectors ''get'' their ''Mona Lisas'', each of which is a ''legitimate'' copy that was painted by [=daVinci=] himself. [[spoiler:The Count is really an alien splintered through time, and he's been working a long con throughout human history so that he can eventually save his own species at the cost of preventing humanity from ever existing. The good Doctor saves the day by aiming to visit [=daVinci=], missing intentionally, and writing "THIS IS A FAKE" in permanent marker on the canvases reserved for the commissioned ''Mona Lisa'' replicas.]]
* In ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'', a man gets his wife and brother, a coroner, to help him fake his own death to collect the $500,000 insurance money. After going to South America with a small part of the money, he keeps waiting for them to join him with the rest. Eventually, what money he has runs out and he returns to find his "widow" and brother are now married and living off the rest of the money. When he tries to turn them into the police for insurance fraud, ''he'' gets arrested, convicted and ''sentenced to death'' for his own murder.
* Two episodes of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' featured criminals pulling scams ''on the cops'' (with variable success).
** In "The Finger," a man murders his mistress, then sets up a fake kidnapping to make it look like someone else did it.
** In "Suckers," a casino security chief arranges a fake murder...which is a cover for the theft of a priceless antique... which is a cover for a heist from the casino's vault... [[spoiler: which is the cover for a massive insurance scam]]. While the mastermind doesn't get arrested, Grissom does [[spoiler:give all his evidence (circumstantial at best) to the insurance company. Presumably, they require less proof to deny a claim]].
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "City of Death" takes this to [[RefugeInAudacity ludicrous levels]]. The con: Count Scarlioni plans to steal the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre. He's set up a silent auction among a group of unscrupulous art collectors who think they're about to get the most valuable painting in the world, and they mail in their checks. Here's how it would normally work: The thief would steal the ''Mona Lisa'', only for the Count to refuse it. The Count gets the money, the thief goes to prison, and the art collectors eat humble pie--they can't raise a fuss at the risk of incriminating themselves. Here's how it works on ''Doctor Who'': the six art collectors ''get'' their ''Mona Lisas'', each of which is a ''legitimate'' copy that was painted by [=daVinci=] himself. [[spoiler:The Count is really an alien splintered through time, and he's been working a long con throughout human history so that he can eventually save his own species at the cost of preventing humanity from ever existing. The good Doctor saves the day by aiming to visit [=daVinci=], missing intentionally, and writing "THIS IS A FAKE" in permanent marker on the canvases reserved for the commissioned ''Mona Lisa'' replicas.]]
* In ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'', a man gets his wife and brother, a coroner, to help him fake his own death to collect the $500,000 insurance money. After going to South America with a small part of the money, he keeps waiting for them to join him with the rest. Eventually, what money he has runs out and he returns to find his "widow" and brother are now married and living off the rest of the money. When he tries to turn them into the police for insurance fraud, ''he'' gets arrested, convicted and ''sentenced to death'' for his own murder.
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[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig's eponymous "Perfect Hoax" back in 1996. For weeks, he stole Wrestling/TripleH's valets and caused him to lose numerous matches because of the subsequent distractions. Finally getting fed up with it, Triple H challenged the retired Hennig to a match; Hennig accepted. However, on the night of the match during an episode of RAW, Triple H ambushed Hennig backstage before the match and seemingly injured his knee, preventing him from continuing. Then-Intercontinental Champion "Wild Man" Marc Mero decided to fight Triple H in Hennig's place, putting his title on the line. In the match's climax, Triple H attempted to cheat using a steel chair, but Hennig ran in for the save and took the chair from Triple H... only to wallop Mero with the chair, allowing Triple H to pin him for the title. Afterwards, the duo revealed that the entire debacle was a plan to put the title on Triple H (and return him to a prominent stature within the company), while embarrassing Mero for stealing Sable from Triple H.
* Mr. Perfect was a point man for another one just four years prior. He and Wrestling/RicFlair orchestrated a plot to get the WWF Title back to Flair starting at Summerslam 92. Wrestling/RandySavage and the Wrestling/UltimateWarrior were both fan favorites, but also accused of selling out to Team Flair. Both Flair and Perfect liberally attacked both the challenger (Warrior) and the WWF Champion (Savage) during the match. Warrior won when Team Flair jumped the champion on the outside, but only by countout, meaning Savage was still the champion. Flair beat the Macho Man shortly after this to win the WWF title for the second time.
* This happened ''[[GoodIsDumb a lot]]'' to Wrestling/{{Sting}} in his Wrestling/{{WCW}} run, often at the hands of Wrestling/RicFlair and Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen or Wrestling/LexLuger. Perhaps the most famous example occurred in an angle involving our hero and Flair in 1995. Flair lost a match to Wrestling/ArnAnderson at Fall Brawl due to interference from Wrestling/BrianPillman, and spent the next month trying to convince an extremely wary Sting to be his partner against the duo for Halloween Havoc. After weeks of vehement refusal, Flair finally got Sting to relent, but not before the latter threatened to mess up the former real good if he got screwed. Before the match, Anderson and Pillman ambushed and seemingly injured Flair, forcing Sting to face the heels by himself. However, in the middle of the match, as Sting was getting his ass kicked, Flair appeared to the roar of the crowd and took his place at Sting's corner. Sting played RickyMorton for a long time, getting closer and closer to making the tag to Flair each time. When he finally made the tag, the arena went nuts, and Flair looked prepared to ''kill'' Arn and Pillman...and then [[FaceHeelTurn proceeded to immediately lay out Sting]], revealing that the entire incident was a set up to re-form The Four Horsemen and humiliate Sting.
[[/folder]]
* "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig's eponymous "Perfect Hoax" back in 1996. For weeks, he stole Wrestling/TripleH's valets and caused him to lose numerous matches because of the subsequent distractions. Finally getting fed up with it, Triple H challenged the retired Hennig to a match; Hennig accepted. However, on the night of the match during an episode of RAW, Triple H ambushed Hennig backstage before the match and seemingly injured his knee, preventing him from continuing. Then-Intercontinental Champion "Wild Man" Marc Mero decided to fight Triple H in Hennig's place, putting his title on the line. In the match's climax, Triple H attempted to cheat using a steel chair, but Hennig ran in for the save and took the chair from Triple H... only to wallop Mero with the chair, allowing Triple H to pin him for the title. Afterwards, the duo revealed that the entire debacle was a plan to put the title on Triple H (and return him to a prominent stature within the company), while embarrassing Mero for stealing Sable from Triple H.
* Mr. Perfect was a point man for another one just four years prior. He and Wrestling/RicFlair orchestrated a plot to get the WWF Title back to Flair starting at Summerslam 92. Wrestling/RandySavage and the Wrestling/UltimateWarrior were both fan favorites, but also accused of selling out to Team Flair. Both Flair and Perfect liberally attacked both the challenger (Warrior) and the WWF Champion (Savage) during the match. Warrior won when Team Flair jumped the champion on the outside, but only by countout, meaning Savage was still the champion. Flair beat the Macho Man shortly after this to win the WWF title for the second time.
* This happened ''[[GoodIsDumb a lot]]'' to Wrestling/{{Sting}} in his Wrestling/{{WCW}} run, often at the hands of Wrestling/RicFlair and Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen or Wrestling/LexLuger. Perhaps the most famous example occurred in an angle involving our hero and Flair in 1995. Flair lost a match to Wrestling/ArnAnderson at Fall Brawl due to interference from Wrestling/BrianPillman, and spent the next month trying to convince an extremely wary Sting to be his partner against the duo for Halloween Havoc. After weeks of vehement refusal, Flair finally got Sting to relent, but not before the latter threatened to mess up the former real good if he got screwed. Before the match, Anderson and Pillman ambushed and seemingly injured Flair, forcing Sting to face the heels by himself. However, in the middle of the match, as Sting was getting his ass kicked, Flair appeared to the roar of the crowd and took his place at Sting's corner. Sting played RickyMorton for a long time, getting closer and closer to making the tag to Flair each time. When he finally made the tag, the arena went nuts, and Flair looked prepared to ''kill'' Arn and Pillman...and then [[FaceHeelTurn proceeded to immediately lay out Sting]], revealing that the entire incident was a set up to re-form The Four Horsemen and humiliate Sting.
[[/folder]]
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* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
** Case 4 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Trials and Tribulations]]'' is about how a cop's sister is kidnapped by her boyfriend, asking for a ransom of an expensive diamond of their father's at a mountain river. [[spoiler: It was all staged in order to sell the diamond and split the millions of dollars amongst themselves. However, all of THAT was a scam; the sister planned this all along and jumped into a river with the diamond, keeping it for herself. (Until it was lost in the river, leaving her with nothing but a criminal background and a lot of karma to hit her over the head later.)]]
** In case 2 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'', [[spoiler:Roger Retinz plots to pull a hidden camera "prank" on Trucy's first televised appearance with Mr. Reus and Bonny and Betty de Famme by tricking Trucy into thinking she had accidentally killed Reus. Like the previous example, it turns out to be an elaborate scheme by Roger to kill Mr. Reus and pin the blame on Trucy that none of the other characters are aware of. He gets bonus points for managing to convince Betty that the "prank" was all ''her'' idea.]]
** Case 4 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Trials and Tribulations]]'' is about how a cop's sister is kidnapped by her boyfriend, asking for a ransom of an expensive diamond of their father's at a mountain river. [[spoiler: It was all staged in order to sell the diamond and split the millions of dollars amongst themselves. However, all of THAT was a scam; the sister planned this all along and jumped into a river with the diamond, keeping it for herself. (Until it was lost in the river, leaving her with nothing but a criminal background and a lot of karma to hit her over the head later.)]]
** In case 2 of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'', [[spoiler:Roger Retinz plots to pull a hidden camera "prank" on Trucy's first televised appearance with Mr. Reus and Bonny and Betty de Famme by tricking Trucy into thinking she had accidentally killed Reus. Like the previous example, it turns out to be an elaborate scheme by Roger to kill Mr. Reus and pin the blame on Trucy that none of the other characters are aware of. He gets bonus points for managing to convince Betty that the "prank" was all ''her'' idea.]]
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': An episode involved Bart and Homer working as con artists. Grandpa Simpson pretended to help them, but secretly lured them into a trap where they were arrested by a government agent who robbed them and turned out to be a con artist. Bart and Homer made up a story to explain the robbery, which inadvertently led to Willie being arrested, put on trial, found guilty, and given a long prison sentence. Out of desperation, Willie steals a bailiff's gun and starts shooting. When Skinner is apparently killed[[note]] Actually a ruse with blanks, squibs, and a blood pack[[/note]]), Homer finally confesses, only for everyone else to admit their deception, down to the judge revealing himself to be Grandpa in a mask and wig. It turns out the whole town was working together to teach them a lesson.
--->'''Homer''': I can't believe everyone was in on it!\\
'''Willie''': '''[[EnforcedMethodActing Willie]] [[UnwittingPawn wasn't]]!!'''
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', a surgeon specializing in cybernetic prosthetic limbs is coerced into providing some punks with weaponized cybernetic enhancements because they've kidnapped his girlfriend. Of course, the girlfriend was working with the gang all along, and the whole thing was probably her idea. [[spoiler:The doctor eventually finds out, but the gang's leader doesn't realize he knows, and comes to the doctor for repairs one last time...]]
--> [[FadeToBlack "I understand...no holding back."]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''; in the episode "Wrath of the Krampus", [[spoiler: Mystery Inc, with a little help from several others, including Hot Dog Water, Jason Wyatt and former mayor Fred Jones Sr, created the hoax of the Krampus to distract Mr. E and his allies so they could acquire Mr. E's segments of the Planispheric Disc.]]
[[/folder]]
