Con Artist = Abuser

Con artists scam because it gives them infinite pleasure to "put one over" on anyone who stands still long enough.

The compulsion to scam is so strong that a con artist will produce a scam even if he/she gains no money out of it. Con artists even scam each other!

An unusually sick group
Quoting a studies by Richard Blum (Deceivers and Deceived: Observations on Confidence Men and Their Victims, Informants and Their Quarry, Political and Industrial Spies and Ordinary Citizens), Chuck Whitlock points out that most con artists are:

... impulsive, amoral, uncontrolled and detached from normal
The essential feature of Antisocial Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others ...

This pattern has also been referred to as psychopathy, sociopathy, or antisocial/ dissocial personality disorder...

Individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder lack empathy and tend to be callous, cynical, and contemptuous of the feelings, rights, and sufferings of others."

From FRAUD AID