Several years ago I served as associate minister in a large, downtown church. One of my responsibilities was to dole out the meager social assistance funds our church had for people in need. A steady stream of persons flowed into my office with enough stories to fill several good-sized volumes.

One man claimed to be a deposed minister of public information for the government of Sierra Leone. Another brought me detailed plans for an electronics system, claiming he needed $200 for a patent fee. Still another dropped his trousers in the middle of my office to show me the prosthetic device for which he needed refills.

Amid these dramatic appeals came a number of genuine claims from persons who, for one reason or another, found themselves in desperate circumstances. My job was to distinguish legitimate needs (true stories) from professional con jobs (false stories).

This is not to say the con artists did not have their own legitimate needs as well, but when resources are scarce, it seems a good ...