What we learn from Anna Delvey: Scams are all the rage for Generation Hustle

A wave of TV shows such as Inventing Anna are sympathetic portrayals of the con artist that lies within us all

Inventing Anna, starring Julia Garner as Anna Delvey, is topping Netflix’s popularity chart. Photo: Aaron Epstein/Netflix

We are living in the age of the scammer. If you weren’t aware of it, just turn on your TV: there’s a rash of real-life dramas about master con artists.

Netflix’s Inventing Anna – a fictionalised account of the fake heiress Anna Delvey (real name Sorokin) – is topping the streaming service’s popularity chart, while in March, Disney+ is releasing The Dropout, which dramatises the tale of health-tech fraud Elizabeth Holmes. It’s no wonder that the New Yorker’s Rachel Syme has declared a “Scam Spring”.