By skyforbes 
There’s nothing new about the grifter. The con artist, the hustler, the smooth talker — they’ve been with us as long as there’s been a crowd willing to listen and a wallet ready to open. From the snake oil peddlers of the Wild West to the Ponzi schemes that toppled empires, grifters are woven into the fabric of our culture.
But something has shifted. The modern grifter isn’t selling tinctures on a dusty street corner; they’re broadcasting on TikTok, flexing on Instagram, or spinning half-truths into thought leadership on LinkedIn. Today’s grift is polished, algorithm-approved, and dressed up as inspiration. And the most dangerous part? We’ve normalised it.
The Old Hustle
Grifters thrive in times of uncertainty. The Depression-era saw the rise of quick-money schemes. The “miracle cures” of the 19th century preyed on desperation in a world without medicine as we know it. People bought the dream because they wanted to believe — whether it was in better health, sudden wealth, or secret wisdom.
At the core, a grift is never about the product; it’s about the promise. Hope has always been a hot commodity.
The Digital Playground
Fast-forward to now. Instead of travelling shows, we have TikTok’s For You Page. Instead of whispers in a saloon, we’ve got viral Instagram reels. Instead of business cards handed out at a hotel bar, there’s LinkedIn’s endless carousel of “thought leaders” rehashing clichés about resilience, leadership, and six-figure side hustles.
Technology has supercharged the grift. Algorithms reward engagement, not truth. Virality doesn’t care about integrity. And so, the smoothest operators aren’t the wisest or the most skilled — they’re the ones who’ve mastered the performance of credibility.
The hustle has gone digital, and it scales faster than ever.
TikTok & Instagram: The Aesthetic Hustle
Scroll through TikTok and Instagram and you’ll find a parade of fast-talking gurus, each promising to unlock “the secret.” The secret to wealth. The secret to influence. The secret to confidence. Often, it’s little more than recycled motivational slogans wrapped in trending audio.
Lifestyle becomes the sales pitch. Flashy cars. Exotic trips. A rented mansion for the weekend. It’s an old trick with new packaging: “Look at me, I’m living proof that what I’m selling works.” Except we rarely ask the obvious — are they making money from their “system,” or are they just making money selling you the system?
The grift thrives because we crave shortcuts. And TikTok and Instagram make it effortless to package the shortcut as destiny.
LinkedIn: The Professional Grift
LinkedIn is more subtle but no less insidious. Here, the grift dresses itself in credibility: “visionary CEOs” of one-person companies, “top voices” who bought engagement pods, and consultants peddling generic frameworks as ground breaking insights.
This is the grift of inflated expertise. Anyone can crown themselves an authority, and the platform rewards confidence over competence. The more polished the story, the faster it spreads. In the corporate world — where everyone’s scrambling to look innovative, inclusive, or transformative — grifters thrive because organisations are desperate to be seen as forward-thinking.
If Instagram sells the dream of wealth, LinkedIn sells the dream of status.
Why We Fall for It
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the grifter needs us as much as we need them. They thrive on our hunger for easy answers, quick fixes, and the illusion of certainty in a chaotic world.
We fall for the grift because it taps into our aspirations. Who doesn’t want to believe that a $97 course can unlock financial freedom? That a weekend retreat will unlock hidden potential? That a new leadership framework will magically transform a broken company culture?
Believing is easier than confronting the messy, difficult work of real change.
The Cost of the Grift
But the grift isn’t harmless entertainment. It erodes trust. It siphons resources. It breeds cynicism. Every time a fake coach, guru, or thought leader gets exposed, it doesn’t just hurt their followers — it fuels a cultural scepticism that poisons the well for those actually doing the work.
We’ve reached a point where people assume every coach is a scammer, every influencer is a fraud, every thought leader is faking it. And when everyone’s a suspect, trust becomes collateral damage.
That’s the grift’s greatest victory: not just taking your money, but making you doubt the possibility of genuine leadership, transformation, or guidance.
Influence or Grift?
Here’s the question we rarely ask: what’s the difference between influence and grift? When does “personal brand” tip over into performance? When does inspiration slip into exploitation?
The line is razor-thin. And that’s why grifters thrive — they operate in the grey zone where aspiration blurs into illusion.
Real influence requires substance. Real leadership leaves room for complexity, failure, and nuance. But nuance doesn’t trend. Failure doesn’t go viral. Complexity doesn’t sell.
And so, the grifter steps in with something simpler, shinier, easier to digest.
A Challenge
The truth is, the grifter will always exist. The platforms will always reward them. What matters is whether we keep falling for it.
We need to sharpen our discernment. Ask harder questions. Look beyond the aesthetic and demand substance. Stop confusing visibility with credibility. And maybe, most importantly, examine our own appetite for the quick fix.
Because if we’re honest, the grifter is only half the story. The other half is us — the audience, the believer, the one clicking “follow” or “buy now.”
Closing Provocation
The age of the grifter isn’t new — it’s just louder, shinier, and broadcast 24/7. Our real danger isn’t that grifters exist; it’s that we’ve started mistaking the grift for leadership, mistaking performance for authenticity, mistaking influence for truth.
If we want to shift the culture, it starts with us refusing the easy sell and demanding the messy, unfiltered reality of real growth, real leadership, real transformation.