The Rogue Dressed as a Captain

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford - A podcast by Pushkin Industries - Fridays

One crisp morning in Berlin, in 1906, a small group of soldiers were led on an extraordinary heist by a man they believed to be a Captain. So how did an ageing nobody in a fake uniform trick them into aiding him in the crime of the century? Some say we humans will obey orders from anyone who dresses the part... but the real reason why we fall for tricksters time and again is far more interesting. Fraudsters and charlatans reel us in slowly by using psychology against us. Read more about Tim's work at http://timharford.com/