Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) a confidence trick.

1942		Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Sl.
1949		Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).
1961		T.I. Rubin In the Life 111: Yeah, con, one big con job.
1970		E. Thompson Garden of Sand (1981) 523: There was a lot of the con job in the way he came on.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 51: Before I left I tried a con job. Since there was no way to cover my tracks, I tried to put the blame on some local punks.
1992		Bentley & Corbett Prison Sl. 14: Con Job also Con Games which are run on new inmates to fool or exploit them for money or other items.
1999		N. Stephenson Cryptonomicon 311: I smell a con job.