From PRX, this is the Moth Radio Hour.

I'm your host, Jay Allison, producer of this show.

In this episode, stories of scams,

hustles, and deception from the con artists themselves and from their unsuspecting victims.

I've been both in my life, mostly running my cons as a teenager. My mother still scolds me

for the classified ad I wrote to sell my old junk car,

because before the phone number, I signed it the Reverend J. Allison.

Is that a con? I guess so. Sorry.

First up, Abigail Ladd, who also started young.

Abigail told this at one of our open mic story slams in Denver,

where we partner with Public Radio Station KUNC.

The theme of the night appropriately was bamboozled.

Here's Abigail Ladd.

I can't even remember my first con.

I was probably still in diapers, but I remember from a really early age thinking adults

were really easy to trick, especially if you were cute and I was wicked cute.

I had blonde curly hair, blue eyes, bubbly personality, and all the lisps you could imagine

rolled into one. It's actually very hard for me to say that still.

But my best con started in kindergarten and ended three years later. I peaked very early.

But my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Cobb, was great. She was like a seasoned veteran. She taught all of my siblings before me. There were three. And they were smart. This is a key detail. Please remember that. You will need it later. So learning to read in her classroom would look like this. She would call me to her desk. She would set a timer. She'd give me a book. And I would stall for as long as possible. I would ask questions. I'd be really adorable. I'd fill her water cup, which was always empty. And this strategy got me safely to first grade.

First grade got a little harder. Mrs. Plunkett, who also taught my

smart siblings, was a little more attentive, but thankfully early readers are incredibly repetitive.

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