Leverage Con Names

glen-reeder:

This a list of all the cons/scams/grifts that the Leverage team names during the show. Included is everything from a small one-on-one interaction between a grifter and a mark (eg. Little Orphan Annie) to full blown multilevel integrated cons (eg. The White Rabbit). If it had a name, it’s here.

If it has a black star beside it, it has a canon explanation or demonstration (eg. The Moonwalking Bear). If it has a white star, there were hints or comparisons made about it (eg. The Apple Pie is “like the Cherry Pie, but with lifeguards”). If it’s hyperlinked, it’s a real life scam and the link is to Wikipedia. If it’s totally unmarked, then the name was mentioned but never elaborated upon and is a part of the team’s beautiful argot. 🙂

  • The Lost Heir ★

    • S1E3, S2E9 
  • A Rip Deal ★

    • S1E5
  • The Spanish Prisoner Scam

    • [in reference to Irina’s adoption con]: “It’s just like the Spanish Prisoner Scam.”
    • S1E6
  • The London Spank 
  • The Geneva Paso Doble
  • The Apple Pie

    • “It’s like the Cherry Pie, but with lifeguards.”
    • S1E9
  • The Cherry Pie 
  • Glengarry, Glen Death

    • S1E9
  • The Turnabout

    • S2E1
  • Ponzi Scheme
  • The Mona Lisa Variant

    • S2E7
  • The Wire Game

    • S2E11
  • The Swedish Rail Con
  • The Cairo Flyer

    • Sophie: “No way, I’m not wearing that dress again.”
    • S3E5
  • The Double-Blind

    • S3E5
  • A Fiddle Game

    • S3E6, S3E10
  • The Pill Scare

    • S3E9
  • The Berlin Shuffle
  • Little Orphan Annie

    • S3E9
  • The Skagway Shuffle

    • S3E10
  • The Mummy’s Tiara

    • S3E12
  • The Vegas Wake-Up Call

    • Like the Cuban Sandwich except “the boyfriend shows up.”
    • S3E13
  • The Cuban Sandwich

    • S3E13
  • An Edward Albee

    • S3E14
  • The Spanish Turnabout

    • Sophie: “I’m thinking the Spanish Turnabout.”
    • Parker: “Hmm, no, he’s not going to leave the country. The [Spanish] Turnabout pays off in an airport.”
    • S3E16
  • The Peking Watch
  • The Moscow Circus

    • Sophie, to Nate: “I’m running the Moscow Circus con, you’re the ‘Ivan’. Go.”
    • S4E1
  • The Romanian Circus

    • Nate: “What [Sophie]’s doing is she’s running a variant. It’s called a Snipe Hunt. It’s the [Romanian] Circus, but it’s leaner and faster.”

    • S4E5
  • The Snipe Hunt

    • S4E5
  • The Roman Wedding

    • S4E6
  • The Peruvian Slide
  • The Boca Backlash
  • The Oklahoma Little Chucky
  • The Chilean Custard
  • The Moonwalking Bear

    • S4E8
  • The Big Store

    • S4E8
  • The MassDOT Special

    • S4E9 (also in S3E7, but unnamed)
  • The Wicked Stepsister
  • The High Minne Scam Variant

    • S4E15
  • The Lazy Dachshund
  • The Pizarro Pressure Point
  • The Double-Pronged Monkey Con

    • S4E16
  • A Radio Play

    • S4E17
  • The Oligschlager Shuffle

    • S5E2
  • The Arkham Ascent

    • S5E3
  • The White Van Speakers

    • S5E4
  • The White Rabbit

    • S5E12
  • A Swap-and-Whisper Campaign

    • S5E13
  • The Trojan Horse

    • S5E15