The 'Green Goods' Confidence Trick
A Tacoma woman narrowly avoids a total swindle only to have her money snatched in a daring streetcar exchange.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Mrs. Dean, wife of a blacksmith at 1342 South D Street, Tacoma, was swindled out of $1,000 this afternoon by 'green goods' men with whom she had been in communication for several weeks. She came from Tacoma with her money in tow to make what looked to her a profitable investment. She met the crooks, entered into negotiations, and was about to purchase counterfeit bills. She finally became suspicious and refused. As she started to leave, one man induced her to put her money in a tin box for safekeeping. On the streetcar, two other men joined them, and Mrs. Dean detected them exchanging her box for another one containing nothing but black paper. She gave the alarm; the men fled but were captured by police. One box contained blank paper, but the other contained the $1,000, recovered by the authorities.
“She gave the alarm; the men fled but were captured by police. One box contained blank paper, but the other contained the $1,000.”
Confidence games have evolved from the 'green goods' scams of the 1890s to digital phishing, but the psychological manipulation of victims remains eerily similar.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.