sharper

The term sharper is an older word, common since the seventeenth-century, for a thief who uses trickery to part an owner with his or her money or other possessions. Sharpers vary from what are now known as con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits". The word "rook" could occur with a similar meaning. In the nineteenth century, and into today, "sharper" has become more closely associated with gambling. Read more on Wikipedia