Faker

Within the world of the novel, Trey’s practical and ethical struggles highlight the complex world of confidence schemes from a much more personal perspective, illustrating the damage that such unethical practices can have on the livelihoods of people from all walks of life. As Trey and his family demonstrate, confidence artists (also known as “grifters”) essentially sell the emotion of confidence itself, often proclaiming that fraudulent investments are worthwhile to fleece their targets, or “marks.” Notably, these story dynamics are based upon real-world concerns about the widespread prevalence of financial fraud, which is defined by the US Bureau of Justice as “acts that intentionally and knowingly deceive the victim by misrepresenting, concealing, or omitting facts about promised goods” (“Financial Fraud.” Bureau of Justice Statistics). The US Federal Trade Commission has reported that in 2024, consumers lost a combined $12.5 billion to financial fraud, up by 25% from 2023 (“New FTC Data Show a Big Jump in Reported Losses to Fraud to $12.5 Billion in 2024.” Federal Trade Commission, March 10, 2025). In both years, approximately 2.6 million people reported fraudulent scams to the FTC, but in 2024, 38% of those actually lost money, up from only 27% the previous year. The increase is attributed to scammers’ ever-evolving tactics, such as contacting potential marks through email, phone, and text message. The use of cryptocurrency (digital currency) has also contributed to the increase, as such transactions are easy to make and difficult to track. 

According to the FTC report, consumers lost the most money (a collective $5.7 billion) in 2024 to investment scams like those that Korman describes in Faker. In Boxelder, Trey’s dad sells fake shares in El Capitan Motors, a nonexistent company that he claims is creating a prototype for an electric car that transcends current technology (e.g., by driving 1,000 miles on a single battery charge). Given the success that Trey’s dad has in conning potential investors, this type of scheme is particularly effective because of the promise it offers. Targets of such frauds are led to believe that they are getting in on the ground floor of an opportunity that will eventually provide them with a substantial financial return—if they wait long enough. However, the promise of such a return in the El Capitan scheme is vaguely set to some indeterminate future moment, and Trey’s dad uses this ploy to buy himself the time to disappear with his marks’ money.