6 The Cullinan diamond is one of the rarest gem qualities found in rough diamonds. It was sent from Africa to London in a plane box through the parcel and a decoy was sent on a ship with full pomp and show to distract thieves, as the diamond was a whooping 3,106 carats. 

On 26 January 1905, Frederick Wells, a superintendent in a mine in South Africa, came across a discovery that changed the world of diamonds. He found the world’s biggest diamond. It was named “Cullinan” after the owner of the mine. The diamond had to be transported to England. There were several steps taken to safeguard the diamond during transit. 

They managed to send the original diamond in a plain box via regular post. The authorities were asked to transport a replica publicly as a decoy until the original reached England safely. The diamond was insured for R17 million. After the Anglo-Boer war, the diamond was presented to King Edward VII for his 66th birthday in the year 1907. (1, 2)

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7 Operation Mincemeat was one of the successful bluffs in history by the British. In 1943, they sent a body to the enemy territory making it look like a spy with fake documents saying they are planning to attack Greece. The Germans fell into the trap and went to defend Greece while Britain captured Sicily. 

This mission was one of the most top-secret missions and successful bluffs during World War II that helped Britain defeat Germany. It was focused on throwing Germans off the track. They set up a nearly half-decomposed corpse with some documents to be left and found by the Nazi intelligence unit. Hitler did not have access to the fake, “top secret” documents in there as they appeared to be from Britain.

The tip they got completely made the Germans change their plans and notified Hitler to change operations from France to Greece. This made them pull back their troops as they were expecting a massive invasion even though it was a bluff and the gamble was too big for Britain. This single move helped save thousands of soldiers and led to the fall of Mussolini in Italy, helping Europe win the war. (1, 2)

8 Back in 1938, a radio drama was aired of H.G Wells’s “War of the Worlds.” It was narrated as a series of news bulletins that people who heard the narration thought there was an actual alien invasion. This resulted in mass hysteria among the listeners including the government and the police. It created one of the greatest fears of the 20th Century in America. 

A drama narration over the radio in 1938 turned out to be one of the most feared moments of American history. The radio broadcast simulated the narration of the drama in the format of a news bulletin. The narration style led to nationwide panic as people followed all the instructions given as the drama was being broadcasted. 

It was aired on Halloween at 8:00 p.m. as many listeners believed that some Martian invasion was taking place. The illusion of realism or the bluff effect by broadcasting it as news had led to many listeners panicking, but this is still disputed as there were only a few listeners to this program. Even though the introductory part explains it is fiction, people who tuned in later get a different idea. (1, 2)

9 During World War II, the United States military made a special army referred to as the “Ghost Army” with a bunch of artists, sound recordings, and fake tanks. This was set up to keep Nazis on their toes, and this idea helped save around 15,000 to 30,000 American lives. 

As a secret weapon for the US army to stay ahead of the Germans, they came up with the idea of the Ghost Army. It was originally a group of artists and engineers that came together to create an illusion that worked as an ultimate distraction. The US was facing a lack of troops and wanted to ensure that the Germans didn’t plan an attack on them. 

They made fake rubber inflated tanks to assemble in the outskirts of Luxembourg. To make their movement feel real, they played the sound of a tank from a deception truck. They had to fool Germans into believing that the 6th Armored Division was assembled here. With the help of camouflage experts, top sound engineers, and artists, this mission was one of the most successful bluffs in history. (1, 2)

10 The Ponzi Scheme is one of the biggest frauds that became commonly used in business. Charles Ponzi was a con artist who promised clients his investors’ money in return but paid them from his new investors for postal reply coupons. It led to federal investigation and mail fraud charges. 

Charles Ponzi was the idea behind the Ponzi Scheme, which is convincing investors to invest in a phony investment and make it appear legitimate. The early investors were paid with the money the later investors paid. Ponzi managed to bluff his way into convincing investors that he knows how to take advantage of currency fluctuation and get discount coupons that can be sold with the face value. 

The investors had a profit of 50% in the first 45 days. According to the scheme he developed, his early investors could make money. The rest did not work and led to a series of investigations and ultimately into mail fraud charges. There are several adaptations of this scheme and people are still walking into this trap. (1, 2)