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| best con artist books: The Con Artists Luke Healy, 2022-06-07 This is going to be Frank’s year. He’s going to do it all: find love, become a famous comedian, and responsibly parent his plants. But then, Giorgio gets hit by a bus. Self-assured and utterly entitled, Giorgio has always seemed like “Frank, but better.” Moving in with and caring for his estranged childhood friend quickly starts to chip away at Frank’s sense of self, as well as Giogio’s carefully curated online persona. Is Giorgio’s penchant for overindulgence truly aspirational? Or is it ultimately a red flag? The further Frank is pulled into Giorgio’s orbit, the quicker his existential dread blooms. Expectation and reality soon collide in a singular tale about trust and confidence. Luke Healy’s playful, hilarious third graphic novel uses crisp lines and physical comedy to portray an uneasy friendship between two young men on the cusp of adulting. Snippets from Frank’s middling stand-up routines are punctuated by the subtle farce of Healy’s mise-en-scène and the lively, at times scathingly pointed, banter of old friends. The Con Artists is a stylish character study that asks the question of who fools who once everyone is off-camera. |
| best con artist books: The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch, 2007-06-26 The first book of the epic fantasy caper Gentleman Bastard Sequence about a roguish group of conmen, which George R. R. Martin says “captured me right on the first page and never let me go.” “If you haven’t read [The Lies of Locke Lamora], you should. If you have read it, you should probably read it again.”—Patrick Rothfuss An orphan’s life is harsh—and often short—in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges relentless danger, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentlemen Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying. Don’t miss any of Scott Lynch’s epic fantasy Gentleman Bastard Sequence: THE LIES OF LOCKE LAMORA • RED SEAS UNDER RED SKIES • THE REPUBLIC OF THIEVES |
| best con artist books: How To Become A Professional Con Artist Dennis M. Marlock, 2001-09-01 A fool and his money are soon parted, so the saying goes. And if the job is done right, the fool doesn't even realize it's happened until the wily con artist has moved on to the next victim or the next town. In this entertaining and eye-opening book, Dennis M. Marlock, a retired cop and chairman of the board for the international law enforcement organization Professionals Against Confidence Crime, takes the reader into the mind and greedy heart of the con man. You'll learn the mechanics behind famous swindles such as the pigeon drop, the Jamaican switch, bank-examiner schemes, three-card monte and even fortune-telling. You'll find out why a good scam artist rarely gets caught and, if he does, how he gets away with the lightest punishment or no punishment at all. If you've ever read a news story about a sucker getting taken and wondered how he could have fallen for that, you need to read this book before an honest-faced stranger offers you a deal too good to pass up. |
| best con artist books: Heist Society Ally Carter, 2010-02-09 Kat Bishop can steal anything-including your heart. Intrigue, adventure, romance, and charm abound in this New York Times bestselling series. For as long as she can remember, Katarina has been a part of the family business-thieving. When Kat tries to leave the life for a normal life, her old friend Hale conspires to bring her back into the fold. Why? A mobster's art collection has been stolen and Kat's father is the only suspect. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help. The only solution is to find the paintings and steal them back. Kat's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history-and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way. With its glamorous international settings, intriguing suspense, complicated cons and even more complicated romance, Heist Society is stealing the hearts of Ally Carter fans everywhere. |
| best con artist books: Con Artistry Instafo, Edwin Piers, 2017-04-10 Get Inside and Conquer the World of Cons The world can be a deceptive place. There are individuals out there who will do anything to gain something regardless of who they hurt or who they have to deceive. Unfortunately, this practice is only becoming more of the norm. Scammers and con artists seem to be on the rise just waiting to take anything they can from the general public. Cons are all over the news nowadays. You hear about people losing all of their investments, savings, or retirement money due to a scam that they fell into. Now you may think to yourself “Those poor people. But how could they not see that it was a scam? It’s so obvious!” For that particular scam, that may be true. However, scams aren’t always that easy to spot. Cons have a unique set of skills that can make them very difficult to detect. In fact, there are always going to be different new schemes and big opportunities that pop up every day, making it nearly impossible to keep track of what is legit and what is sham. Then how does one defend against this art of cons? Con Artistry dives head on into the world of cons so that you can safely navigate these treacherous waters without falling prey to them. Pulling back behind this curtain will reveal to you: * Con-artist methodologies used to get close to their victims * Red flags signs to watch out for to determine a con artist * Actions to always have in place to avoid being scammed * Defense techniques to decipher and lure potential cons out * Bag of tricks that cons master employed to play their games * Whistle-blower steps to expose and end the con once and for all * Insider look into all sorts of cons and how to protect against them * And much more! Con Artistry will also explore some of the famous schemes and con artists in the past. Often, by examining previous criminals, you can become more aware of how cons operate and target people. From these infamous crooks, you can learn what emotions scammers will exploit and avoid becoming a victim. As a fair warning with this knowledge of con artistry, you promise that you will use it for protection only and not take advantage of other people. |
| best con artist books: The Modern Con Man Todd Robbins, 2008-04-08 A whimsical resource for low-risk grifters provides a treasury of humorous tips and historical facts about the art of the con, in a volume that outlines easy-to-follow swindles that can be used to score free meals, good tickets, bar bets, and more. |
| best con artist books: Charmers & Con Artists Sandra Scott, 2014-06-04 This is a psychological study of charmers, con artists, and their hidden alter-ego, the abusers -- how they got that way, various profile examples, and how to recover from their artistry of killing you softly with their charm. |
| best con artist books: King Con Paul Willetts, 2018-08-07 The spellbinding tale of hustler Edgar Laplante—the king of Jazz Age con artists—who becomes the victim of his own dangerous game. Edgar Laplante was a smalltime grifter, an erstwhile vaudeville performer, and an unabashed charmer. But after years of playing thankless gigs and traveling with medicine shows, he decided to undertake the most demanding and bravura performance of his life. In the fall of 1917, Laplante reinvented himself as Chief White Elk: war hero, sports star, civil rights campaigner, Cherokee nation leader—and total fraud. Under the pretenses of raising money for struggling Native American reservations, Laplante dressed in buckskins and a feathered headdress and traveled throughout the American West, narrowly escaping exposure and arrest each time he left town. When the heat became too much, he embarked upon a lucrative continent-hopping tour that attracted even more enormous crowds, his cons growing in proportion to the adulation of his audience. As he moved through Europe, he spied his biggest mark on the Riviera: a prodigiously rich Hungarian countess, who was instantly smitten with the con man. The countess bankrolled a lavish trip through Italy that made Laplante a darling of the Mussolini regime and a worldwide celebrity, soaring to unimaginable heights on the wings of his lies. But then, at the pinnacle of his improbable success, Laplante’s overreaching threatened to destroy him… In King Con, Paul Willetts brings this previously untold story to life in all its surprising absurdity, showing us how our tremendous capacity for belief and our longstanding obsession with celebrity can make fools of us all—and proving that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. |
| best con artist books: The Big Con David Maurer, 1999-07-20 The classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in Salon called “a bonanza of wild but credible stories, told concisely with deadpan humor, as sly and rich in atmosphere as anything this side of Mark Twain.” “Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat,” wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in The Big Con, one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot, Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers, who let him in on not simply their language but their folkways and the astonishingly complex and elaborate schemes whereby unsuspecting marks, hooked by their own greed and dishonesty, were “taken off” – i.e. cheated—of thousands upon thousands of dollars. The Big Con is a treasure trove of American lingo (the write, the rag, the payoff, ropers, shills, the cold poke, the convincer, to put on the send) and indelible characters (Yellow Kid Weil, Barney the Patch, the Seldom Seen Kid, Limehouse Chappie, Larry the Lug). It served as the source for the Oscar-winning film The Sting. |
| best con artist books: The Confidence Game Maria Konnikova, 2017-01-10 It’s a startling and disconcerting read that should make you think twice every time a friend of a friend offers you the opportunity of a lifetime.” —Erik Larson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake and bestselling author of Devil in the White City Think you can’t get conned? Think again. The New York Times bestselling author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes explains how to spot the con before they spot you. “[An] excellent study of Con Artists, stories & the human need to believe” –Neil Gaiman, via Twitter A compelling investigation into the minds, motives, and methods of con artists—and the people who fall for their cons over and over again. While cheats and swindlers may be a dime a dozen, true conmen—the Bernie Madoffs, the Jim Bakkers, the Lance Armstrongs—are elegant, outsized personalities, artists of persuasion and exploiters of trust. How do they do it? Why are they successful? And what keeps us falling for it, over and over again? These are the questions that journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova tackles in her mesmerizing new book. From multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes to small-time frauds, Konnikova pulls together a selection of fascinating stories to demonstrate what all cons share in common, drawing on scientific, dramatic, and psychological perspectives. Insightful and gripping, the book brings readers into the world of the con, examining the relationship between artist and victim. The Confidence Game asks not only why we believe con artists, but also examines the very act of believing and how our sense of truth can be manipulated by those around us. |
| best con artist books: Scam Me If You Can Frank Abagnale, 2019-08-27 Are you at risk of being scammed? Former con artist and bestselling author of Catch Me If You Can Frank Abagnale shows you how to stop scammers in their tracks. Maybe you're wondering how to make the scam phone calls stop. Perhaps someone has stolen your credit card number. Or you've been a victim of identity theft. Even if you haven't yet been the target of a crime, con artists are always out there, waiting for the right moment to steal your information, your money, and your life. As one of the world's most respected authorities on the subjects of fraud, forgery, and cyber security, Frank Abagnale knows how scammers work. In Scam Me If You Can, he reveals the latest tricks that today's scammers, hackers, and con artists use to steal your money and personal information--often online and over the phone. Using plain language and vivid examples, Abagnale reveals hundreds of tips, including: The best way to protect your phone from being hacked The only time you should ever use a debit card The one type of photo you should never post on social media The only conditions under which you should use WiFi networks at the airport The safest way to use an ATM With his simple but counterintuitive rules, Abagnale also makes use of his insider intel to paint a picture of cybercrimes that haven't become widespread yet. |
| best con artist books: Empire of Deception Dean Jobb, 2015-05-19 It was a time of unregulated madness. And nowhere was it madder than in Chicago at the dawn of the Roaring Twenties. Enter a slick, smooth-talking, charismatic lawyer named Leo Koretz, who enticed hundreds of people to invest as much as $30 million—upward of $400 million today—in phantom timberland and nonexistent oil wells in Panama. This rip-roaring tale of greed, financial corruption, dirty politics, over-the-top and under-the-radar deceit, illicit sex, and a brilliant and wildly charming con man on the town, then on the lam, is not only a rich and detailed account of a man and an era; it’s a fascinating look at the methods of swindlers throughout history. As Model Ts rumbled down Michigan Avenue, gang-war shootings announced Al Capone’s rise to underworld domination. As bedecked partygoers thronged to the Drake Hotel’s opulent banquet rooms, corrupt politicians held court in thriving speakeasies and the frenzy of stock market gambling was rampant. Leo Koretz was the Bernie Madoff of his day, and Dean Jobb shows us that the American dream of easy wealth is a timeless commodity. “Intoxicating and impressively researched, Jobb’s immorality tale provides a sobering post-Madoff reminder that those who think everything is theirs for the taking are destined to be taken.” —The New York Times Book Review “Captivating . . . A story that seems to be as American as it can get, and it’s told well.” —The Christian Science Monitor “A masterpiece of narrative set-up and vivid language . . . Jobb vividly . . . brings the Chicago of the 1880s and ‘90s to life.” —Chicago Tribune “This cautionary tale of 1920s greed and excess reads like it could happen today.” —The Associated Press |
| best con artist books: If Tomorrow Comes Sidney Sheldon, 2012-06-07 The international bestseller from the master of suspense. A mafia conspiracy and one women against the world. |
| best con artist books: Outsmarting the Scam Artists D. Shadel, 2012-01-30 A practical guide to avoiding the most common scams, from a fraud-fighting expert U.S. consumers lose billions of dollars each year to scam artists—and the next victim could be you. While anyone can be targeted, many victims are older. In AARP's Outsmarting the Scam Artists, renowned fraud-fighter Doug Shadel offers practical advice for consumers who want to protect their money as well as the financial assets of their parents and families. Despite the rise of scams, many people are embarrassed to admit they've been victimized. The author helps break the cycle of shame by including accounts from the people who've been scammed as well as tips from a surprising source: convicted con artists who reveal how they've defrauded people like you. Get practical tips to combat all kinds of scams, from simple lottery tickets to non-existent oil and gas deals and religious ponzi schemes Learn how to protect yourself by securing your mailbox and fraud-proofing your trash Get inside the head of sophisticated scam artists to discover how you can become the type of individual they avoid Scammers are everywhere. But with Outsmarting the Scam Artists in hand, you can protect yourself and your money. |
| best con artist books: Provenance Laney Salisbury, Aly Sujo, 2009-07-09 A tautly paced investigation of one the 20th century's most audacious art frauds, which generated hundreds of forgeries-many of them still hanging in prominent museums and private collections today Provenance is the extraordinary narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate deceptions in art history. Investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo brilliantly recount the tale of a great con man and unforgettable villain, John Drewe, and his sometimes unwitting accomplices. Chief among those was the struggling artist John Myatt, a vulnerable single father who was manipulated by Drewe into becoming a prolific art forger. Once Myatt had painted the pieces, the real fraud began. Drewe managed to infiltrate the archives of the upper echelons of the British art world in order to fake the provenance of Myatt's forged pieces, hoping to irrevocably legitimize the fakes while effectively rewriting art history. The story stretches from London to Paris to New York, from tony Manhattan art galleries to the esteemed Giacometti and Dubuffet associations, to the archives at the Tate Gallery. This enormous swindle resulted in the introduction of at least two hundred forged paintings, some of them breathtakingly good and most of them selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many of these fakes are still out in the world, considered genuine and hung prominently in private houses, large galleries, and prestigious museums. And the sacred archives, undermined by John Drewe, remain tainted to this day. Provenance reads like a well-plotted thriller, filled with unforgettable characters and told at a breakneck pace. But this is most certainly not fiction; Provenance is the meticulously researched and captivating account of one of the greatest cons in the history of art forgery. |
| best con artist books: The Con James Munton, Jelita McLeod, 2013-09 Steering clear of cons requires a heightened awareness and healthy skepticism, along with an appreciation for just how widespread scams are. The Con: How Scams Work, Why You're Vulnerable, and How to Protect Yourself is an insightful, revealing look at scams, why they work, and how to avoid them. Through the use of personal narratives, the book teaches people to assess and reject advances, encounters, and approaches that do not meet sufficient standards of credibility. |
| best con artist books: Ponzi's Scheme Mitchell Zuckoff, 2005-03-08 You’ve heard of the scheme. Now comes the man behind it. In Mitchell Zuckoff's exhilarating book, the first nonfiction account of Charles Ponzi, we meet the charismatic rogue who launched the most famous and extraordinary scam in the annals of American finance. It was a time when anything seemed possible–instant wealth, glittering fame, fabulous luxury–and for a run of magical weeks in the spring and summer of 1920, Charles Ponzi made it all come true. Promising to double investors’ money in three months, the dapper, charming Ponzi raised the “rob Peter to pay Paul” scam to an art form and raked in millions at his office in downtown Boston. Ponzi’s Scheme is the amazing true story of the irresistible scoundrel who launched the most successful scheme of financial alchemy in modern history–and uttered the first roar of the Roaring Twenties. Ponzi may have been a charlatan, but he was also a wonderfully likable man. His intentions were noble, his manners impeccable, his sales pitch enchanting. Born to a genteel Italian family, he immigrated to the United States with big dreams but no money. Only after he became hopelessly enamored of a stenographer named Rose Gnecco and persuaded her to marry him did Ponzi light on the means to make his dreams come true. His true motive was not greed but love. With rich narrative skill, Mitchell Zuckoff conjures up the feverish atmosphere of Boston during the weeks when Ponzi’s bubble grew bigger and bigger. At the peak of his success, Ponzi was taking in more than $2 million a week. And then his house of cards came crashing down–thanks in large part to the relentless investigative reporting of Richard Grozier’s Boston Post. In Zuckoff's hands, Ponzi is no mere swindler; instead he is appealing and magnetic, a colorful and poignant figure, someone who struggled his whole life to attain great wealth and who sincerely believed–to the very end–that he could have made good on his investment promises if only he’d had enough time. Ponzi is a classic American tale of immigrant life and the dream of success, and the unexpectedly moving story of a man who–for a fleeting, illusory moment–attained it all. |
| best con artist books: Catch Me If You Can Frank W. Abagnale, Stan Redding, 2002-11-19 The uproarious, bestselling true story of the world's most sought-after con man, immortalized by Leonardo DiCaprio in DreamWorks' feature film of the same name, from the author of Scam Me If You Can. Frank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and copiloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged checks, all before he was twenty-one. Known by the police of twenty-six foreign countries and all fifty states as The Skywayman, Abagnale lived a sumptuous life on the lam—until the law caught up with him. Now recognized as the nation's leading authority on financial foul play, Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-fiction international escapades, and ingenious escapes-including one from an airplane-make Catch Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit. |
| best con artist books: "Yellow Kid" Weil Weil Weil, 2011-01-01 Everywhere the Yellow Kid looks he sees money—too bad it's yours. |
| best con artist books: Free Hostage S. Ann Cole, 2017-11-27 My name is Timberly Day. I don’t drink, but I do know things. I know the heart beats over 100,000 times per day. I know for every one second, lightning strikes the Earth 100 times. I also know that Jaxon King—the bloody tosser!—is a muddler. A manipulator. A liar. A con, a thief...and a closet nerd. He’s as beautiful as innocence, as harmless as a feather. Except, it’s all an illusion. I see him and I see lies. I smell him and I taste deceit. And still—fool that I am—I rush in. His eyes are like ice. His tongue is like fire. His lies are white, but his touch is red hot. I had the chance to run. I didn’t. Now, I am a part of the game. And the only way to win...is to give in. |
| best con artist books: Long White Con Iceberg Slim, 2012-01-03 Iceberg Slim, best-selling author of Pimp and Trick Baby, brings us yet another riveting classic. Continuing the saga, Long White Con tells the story of the most incredible con man ever to have risen. Iceberg Slim's story is now depicted in a major motion picture distributed worldwide. Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp shows Slim's transformation from pimp to the author of 7 classic books. Picking up where Trick Baby left off we dive into the world of Johnny O'Brien, better known as White Folks. After learning to use his fair skin to his advantage to rise to the top of the Chicago con game, Folks is back for the big money and the big stakes of the long con. Following the death of his partner and mentor, Blue, Folks takes off for Canada. Having honed his skills and polished his acting, Johnny is done cheating marks out of small money. With a gang of grifters working with him, High Pockets Kate, High Ass Marvel and the Vicksburg Kid among them, Folks is after the biggest score of his life. |
| best con artist books: How to Cheat at Everything Simon Lovell, 2007-01-01 Gambling is more popular than ever, with multi-million dollar poker tournaments on television, gambling themed movies like Rounders gaining in popularity, and casinos opening in just about every state of the U.S. How to Cheat at Everything is a roller-coaster ride through bar bets, street hustles, carnivals, Internet fraud, big and small cons, card and dice games and more. You'll even find the exact frauds that the NYPD regard as the most common and dangerous today, and learn top tips on how to avoid each one. This inside information comes from Lovell's lifetime of experience in the field, along with additional information from both sides of the law. Not just a here's how the con works book; this guides you through the set up, the talk, the sell, everything about the con, and how you can be suckered into one. If you think that you can't be conned; then you are already halfway to being so! There is no preaching here, just a fun ripping ride through a world so few know about. You'll meet wild, eccentric and larcenous characters and you'll learn how they work their money-making deeds, all without having to risk a penny of your own money. |
| best con artist books: Charlatan Pope Brock, 2008-02-05 The inspiration for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival documentary, NUTS!. “An extraordinary saga of the most dangerous quack of all time...entrancing” –USA Today In 1917, John R. Brinkley–America’s most brazen con man–introduced an outlandish surgical method for restoring fading male virility. It was all nonsense, but thousands of eager customers quickly made “Dr.” Brinkley one of America’s richest men–and a national celebrity. The great quack buster Morris Fishbein vowed to put the country’ s “most daring and dangerous” charlatan out of business, yet each effort seemed only to spur Brinkley to new heights of ingenuity, and the worlds of advertising, broadcasting, and politics soon proved to be equally fertile grounds for his potent brand of flimflam. Culminating in a decisive courtroom confrontation, Charlatan is a marvelous portrait of a boundlessly audacious rogue on the loose in an America ripe for the bamboozling. |
| best con artist books: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Frauds, Scams, and Cons Duane Swierczynski, 2002-12-03 -- The main target for scams are those 50 years of age or older. -- This book will expose all the latest scams, frauds, and cons -- and can be updated yearly, if necessary, to expose all the latest schemes. Fraud -- credit card fraud, telemarketing scares, Internet scares, identity theft and hundreds of other items that are geared to separate you from your money -- is a multi-billion dollar business, both in the U.S. and worldwide. From a simple three-card monte game on a street corner to sophisticated banking and Wall Street swindles, cons, frauds and scams are destined to strike one in ten Americans this year. Check kiting, ATM scares, bankruptcy fraud, real estate scams, Nigerian money offers, and even slave reparation scams -- there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of ways to get suckered by telemarketers or just plain fast-talking swindlers. Scary stuff, right? This book identifies the myriad of scams, cons, and frauds perpetrated every minute of every day in this country, and gives cutting-edge, up-to-date advice on how you can protect yourself from unscrupulous cons of every conceivable stripe. There will also be an entertaining section on con artists through history, from the infamous grifters of the Great Depression to the masterminds of the recent Enron collapse -- perhaps one of the greatest scams in America's history. |
| best con artist books: The Art of the Steal Frank W. Abagnale, 2002-01-29 The world--famous former con artist and bestselling author of Catch Me if You Can now reveals the mind--boggling tricks of the scam trade--with advice that has made him one of America's most sought--after fraud--prevention experts. I had as much knowledge as any man alive concerning the mechanics of forgery, check swindling, counterfeiting, and other similar crimes. Ever since I'd been released from prison, I'd often felt that if I directed this knowledge into the right channels, I could help people a great deal. Every time I went to the store and wrote a check, I would see two or three mistakes made on the part of the clerk or cashier, mistakes that a flimflam artist would take advantage of. . . . In a certain sense, I'm still a con artist. I'm just putting down a positive con these days, as opposed to the negative con I used in the past. I've merely redirected the talents I've always possessed. I've applied the same relentless attention to working on stopping fraud that I once applied to perpetuating fraud. In Catch Me if You Can, Frank W. Abagnale recounted his youthful career as a master imposter and forger. In The Art of the Steal, Abagnale tells the remarkable story of how he parlayed his knowledge of cons and scams into a successful career as a consultant on preventing financial foul play--while showing you how to identify and outsmart perpetrators of fraud. Technology may have made it easier to track down criminals, but cyberspace has spawned a skyrocketing number of ways to commit crime--much of it untraceable. Businesses are estimated to lose an unprecedented $400 billion a year from fraud of one sort or another. If we were able to do away with fraud for just two years, we'd erase the national debt and pay Social Security for the next one hundred years. However, Abagnale has discovered that punishment for committing fraud, much less recovery of stolen funds, seldom happens: Once you're a victim, you won't get your money back. Prevention is the best form of protection. Drawn from his twenty-five years of experience as an ingenious con artist (whose check scams alone mounted to more than $2 million in stolen funds), Abagnale's The Art of the Steal provides eye-opening stories of true scams, with tips on how they can be prevented. Abagnale takes you deep inside the world and mind of the con artist, showing you just how he pulled off his scams and what you can do to avoid becoming the next victim. You'll hear the stories of notorious swindles, like the mustard squirter trick and the rock in the box ploy, and meet the criminals like the famous Vickers Gang who perpetrated them. You'll find out why crooks wash checks and iron credit cards and why a thief brings glue with him to the ATM. And finally, you'll learn how to recognize a bogus check or a counterfeit bill, and why you shouldn't write your grocery list on a deposit slip. A revealing look inside the predatory criminal mind from a former master of the con, The Art of the Steal is the ultimate defense against even the craftiest crook. |
| best con artist books: Crimes of Persuasion Les Henderson, 2003 In-depth fraud coverage of computer crimes such as pyramid schemes make this crime library of internet fraud the cybercrime location for the schemes and scams that con artists perpetrate. White collar crimes such as prime bank fraud, pyramid scams, internet fraud, phone scams, chain letters, modeling agency and Nigerian scams, computer fraud as well as telemarketing fraud are fully explained. This detailed but easy to read report on organized crime topics include credit card fraud, check kiting, tax fraud, money laundering, mail fraud, counterfeit money orders, check fraud and other who's who true crimes of persuasion. |
| best con artist books: License To Steal Dennis M. Marlock, John Dowling, 2007-01-01 License to Steal -- an in-depth study of the criminal element of the Romani population, a highly organized, secretive empire known as the Gypsy Mafia -- is based on true stories taken from police records, historical data and heartbreaking interviews with victims of various scams. Gypsy Mafia games include burglary, home-improvement rip-offs, fortune-telling, shoplifting, pickpocketing and insurance and credit-card fraud. |
| best con artist books: The Scam List Kurt Dinan, 2020-08 Boone McReedy: high school conman, smooth-talking charmer, and the idiot who just got scammed out of $15,000 of his mom's money. Darby West: ass-kicker, straight-shooter, and Boone's ex-girlfriend. Now, they must team up to save their parents' business, one con at a time. That is if they don't kill each other first. |
| best con artist books: Confident Women Tori Telfer, 2021-02-23 A thoroughly entertaining and darkly humorous roundup of history's notorious but often forgotten female con artists and their bold, outrageous scams--by the acclaimed author of Lady Killers. From Elizabeth Holmes and Anna Delvey to Frank Abagnale and Charles Ponzi, audacious scams and charismatic scammers continue to intrigue us as a culture. As Tori Telfer reveals in Confident Women, the art of the con has a long and venerable tradition, and its female practitioners are some of the best--or worst. In the 1700s in Paris, Jeanne de Saint-Rémy scammed the royal jewelers out of a necklace made from six hundred and forty-seven diamonds by pretending she was best friends with Queen Marie Antoinette. In the mid-1800s, sisters Kate and Maggie Fox began pretending they could speak to spirits and accidentally started a religious movement that was soon crawling with female con artists. A gal calling herself Loreta Janeta Velasquez claimed to be a soldier and convinced people she worked for the Confederacy--or the Union, depending on who she was talking to. Meanwhile, Cassie Chadwick was forging paperwork and getting banks to loan her upwards of $40,000 by telling people she was Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter. In the 1900s, a 40something woman named Margaret Lydia Burton embezzled money all over the country and stole upwards of forty prized show dogs, while a few decades later, a teenager named Roxie Ann Rice scammed the entire NFL. And since the death of the Romanovs, women claiming to be Anastasia have been selling their stories to magazines. What about today? Spoiler alert: these artists are still conning. Confident Women asks the provocative question: Where does chutzpah intersect with a uniquely female pathology--and how were these notorious women able to so spectacularly dupe and swindle their victims? |
| best con artist books: Dare to be Great Rudy Maxa, 1977 |
| best con artist books: Fake Stephanie Wood, 2019-07 Women the world over are brought up to hope, even expect, to find the man of their dreams and live happily ever after. When Stephanie Wood meets a former architect turned farmer she embarks on an exhilarating romance with him. He seems compassionate, loving, truthful. They talk about the future. She falls in love. She also becomes increasingly beset by anxiety at his frequent cancellations, no-shows and bizarre excuses. She starts to wonder, who is this man? When she ends the relationship Stephanie reboots her journalism skills and embarks on a romantic investigation. She discovers a story of mind-boggling duplicity and manipulation. She learns that the man she thought she was in love with doesn't exist. She also finds she is not alone; that the world is full of smart people who have suffered at the hands of liars, cheats, narcissists, fantasists and phonies, people enormously skilled in the art of deception. In this brilliantly acute and broad-ranging book, Wood, an award-winning writer and journalist, has written a riveting, important account of contemporary love, and the resilience of those who have witnessed its darkest sides. |
| best con artist books: Con Crazy Addison Chapple, Daniel Kravitz, Elizabeth Mouse, 2023-08-29 Inspired by the hilarious true story. When a brilliant but bankrupt con man chooses an aging, eccentric French aristocratic family as his next mark, he gets a whole lot more than he bargained for. |
| best con artist books: Duped Abby Ellin, 2019-01-15 Abby Ellin was shocked to learn that her fiancéas leading a secret life. But as she soon discovered, the world is full of people who aren't what they seem. From Abby Ellin's first date with the Commander, she was caught up in a whirlwind. Within six months he'd proposed, and they'd moved in together. But soon, his exotic stories of international espionage began to unravel. Finally, it all became clear: he was lying about who he was. After leaving him and sharing her story, she was floored to find out that her experience was far from unique. People everywhere, many of them otherwise sharp-witted and self-aware, are being deceived by their loved ones every day. In Duped, Abby Ellin studies the art and science of lying, talks to people who've had their worlds upended by duplicitous partners, and writes with great openness about her own mistakes. These remarkable stories reveal how often we encounter people whose lives beneath the surface are more improbable than we ever imagined. |
| best con artist books: The Smartest Guys in the Room Bethany McLean, 2004 |
| best con artist books: Son of a Grifter Kent Walker, Mark Schone, 2002-04-02 In 1988 a troubled young man and his flamboyant mother were arrested for murdering a wealthy widow in her New York City mansion. Suddenly, America was transfixed by a pair of real-life film noir characters. The media couldn't get enough of the twisted relationship between Sante Kimes and her twenty-three-year-old son Kenny. But the most chilling story of all was never told—until now. Kent Walker, Sante's elder son, reveals how he survived forty years of the Dragon Lady's very special brand of motherly love and still managed to get away. As a child Kent watched his mother destroy his hardworking father, Ed Walker, and then—with Kent's painful collusion—snare what Sante called my millionaire. When she married seemingly respectable real-estate developer Ken Kimes, it was a match made in hell. For the next two decades Kent's mother and stepfather indulged in a globetrotting orgy of criminal behaviour. Kent, their would-be recruit, was privy to the family business—torching houses, defrauding friends, crashing White When Kent's half-brother, Kenny was born, Kent was twelve years old—old enough to know that he was his younger sibling's only protector. Kent tried desperately to save Kenny from his mother's sinister bidding. His failure haunts him to this day. |
| best con artist books: Chasing the Ace Nicholas J. Johnson, 2014 Friendship and fraud is a dangerous mix Joel Fitch has watched every twist - happy movie there is about con men, and he thinks he knows it all. After nineteen years of being a sucker, Joel's going to take everything he's learned from the screen and finally get his. He's going to be a master con artist. Richard Mordecai is a real - life swindler. But unlike Joel, he knows the truth about con men. At the end of a long career of lies and betrayal, Richard is tired and jaded. He's ready to retire. Until he meets Joel. They form an uneasy partnership and Joel soon finds himself thrust into a world of bottom dealers, fraudsters and ace chasers that's unlike any movie he's ever seen. And when the pair accidentally scam the wrong mark, they have to draw on every last trick and piece of cunning they can to get themselves free and walk away with the money ... and hopefully their dignity. 'A deliciously devious debut. It will fool you, and you will love it.' Lawrence Leung |
| best con artist books: The Artist Book in a Global World Wulf D. von Lucius, Gunnar A. Kaldewey, 2016-11-07 No detailed description available for The Artist Book in a Global World. |
| best con artist books: Scams, Cons, Frauds, and Deceptions Sean Byrne, James Byrne, 2024-06-28 This unique volume presents cutting-edge research on the nature and extent of a wide range of scams, cons, frauds, and deceptive activities, including sextortion, the use of ransomware, phishing, identity theft, Ponzi schemes, online shopping fraud, gift card scams, and health care fraud targeting elderly victims. The contributions to this book raise and attempt to answer several intriguing questions: Why have governments in each global region failed to respond more aggressively to these crimes? What can/should the private sector and social media giants be doing? Can the current responses of both governments and the private sector be linked to the public’s ambivalence about how to respond to these forms of offending and victimization? Does a large segment of the public admire individuals who get involved in these activities, in large part due to the positive portrayal of scammers, fraudsters, and con artists in both literature and cinema? Or does the public’s view of the harm caused by these scams and cons vary, based on our view of who is victimized (e.g., individuals or corporations) and/or why they were chosen? Will governments – as they have done in the past – attempt to influence the public’s views by restricting access to books and movies that focus on the latest scams, cons, and frauds taking place on-line and in-person via book banning and other forms of censuring? And finally, should this discussion of the influence of books and cinema on the public’s views of scams, frauds, cons, and deception be broadened to include the government’s ongoing attempts to censure a wide range of books and films that may influence the public’s view of morality—and more recently, the public’s view of our government—due to their content? Timely and thought-provoking, this book will be a key resource for researchers, scholars, and practitioners in criminology and criminal justice, sociology, law, psychology, and social work, while also appealing to interdisciplinary researchers seeking insight into the relationship between positive portrayals of scammers, fraudsters, and con artists in literature and cinema, and the public’s perception of individuals who get involved in these activities. It was originally published as a special issue of Victims & Offenders. |
| best con artist books: The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books J. Peder Zane, 2010-06-21 What if you asked 125 top writers to pick their favorite books? Which titles would come out on top? You'll find the answer in The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books: the ultimate guide to the world's greatest books. As writers such as Norman Mailer, Annie Proulx, Stephen King, Jonathan Franzen, Claire Messud, Margaret Drabble, Michael Chabon and Peter Carey name the ten books that have meant the most to them, you'll be reminded of books you have always loved and introduced to works awaiting your discovery. The Top Ten includes summaries of 544 books—each of which is considered to be among the ten greatest books ever written by at least one leading writer. In addition to each writer's Top Ten List, the book features Top Ten Lists tabulated from their picks, including: • The Top Ten Books of All Time • The Top Ten Books by Living Writers • The Top Ten Books of the Twentieth Century • The Top Ten Mysteries • The Top Ten Comedies The Top Ten will help readers answer the most pressing question of all: What should I read next? |
| best con artist books: Con Artist Dating Millie Osborne, 2019-12-01 Romance is supposed to be a mutually beneficial, genuine way to find true love and even marriage. Whether you find your partner online or unplugged, it is important to know the subtle yet life changing behaviors common to people who want you to love them so that they can take advantage of your will, your money, and even your body. Winner of two awards, this book is a personal guided tour that helps you explore the well-concealed world of con artists operating on people like you and me. The guide does not judge your romance decisions but, instead, provides enlightenment that boosts critical thinking and analysis-two progressive assets in all aspects of life, especially when building relationships. This self-help guide will empower you with the knowledge to judge relationships accurately and confidently for yourself. This is what people think after reading Con Artist Dating: In an age of countless internet and social media scams, relationship scams may be the cruelest of all, because they prey on the need we all feel for love and affection. The combination of a lonely heart and a con artist who is good at being convincing is a very dangerous one. In this book Millie Osborne wants to give not just potential victims but also their families the information they need to determine when it's not really love someone is after. Tom Roussey, TV Reporter “Dr. Osborne is a psychiatrist, scholar and author who creates a portrait of a personality type personified by a lust for power and profit. Fascinating and often surprising, the book provides many valuable insights and compelling examples of just what it is that defines a “con artist.” The book is a pleasure to read, enlightening readers with all degrees of experience, including parents; and an indispensable guide to anyone interested in the dynamics of con-artistry and its pernicious impact on the victims. Lorraine S. Roth, M.D., Editor of ‘Current Psychiatry’ and Henry J. Roth, Ph.D., Author of ‘Tales from Time Out’ and ‘Climbing Jacobs Ladder’ “Millie Osborne, M.D., psychiatric consultant, is expertly qualified to write a book that guides readers through the world of con artist dating. It has been her passion to relieve human suffering through knowledge and information that enlightens readers. Any woman or man hungry for love should read this unique self-help guide to personal growth and development. It could save them the heartache of emotional and financial harm that results from becoming a victim of deceit. Therapists might want to recommend this book to their heart-broken clients.” John C. Russotto, Ph.D., Mental Health Consultant Soul searching...a relentlessly honest and powerful guide that leaves you shaken and thankfully educated. This book takes a deep dive into illuminating the unforeseen, unanticipated and unsettling social and moral consequences involving manipulative behaviors. This is required reading that will leave you empowered and strengthened.” Yvonne L. Taylor, Ph.D., MSN, NP “Human relationships are dominated by people who take advantage of human gullibility and perceived needs masquerading as wants. As long as humans want to believe things for reasons having nothing to do with facts and evidence, there will always be unscrupulous people who come along and take advantage of that by feeding such beliefs which do not require any demonstrable and credible evidence. Skepticism is the virtue which is far more likely to save one from being conned by creeps everywhere and in all aspects of life, not just dating. Finding the right people in life in whom you can place your trust is everything, and the only way to find them is by seeing how well their actions match their words - basically facts and evidence, just like one would use to determine if a certain factor is the cause of an observed outcome. Anyone can say anything, but it is what one does - well that is your evidence.” -Anonymous |
difference - "What was best" vs "what was the best"? - English …
Oct 18, 2018 · On the linked page, best is used as an adverb, modifying the verb knew. In that context, the phrase the best can also be used as if it were an adverb. The meaning is …
adverbs - About "best" , "the best" , and "most" - English …
Oct 20, 2016 · I like you best. I like chocolate best, better than anything else. can be used when what one is choosing from is not specified. I like you the best. Between chocolate, vanilla, and …
articles - "it is best" vs. "it is the best" - English Language ...
Jan 2, 2016 · This is the best car in the garage. We use articles like the and a before nouns, like car. The word "best" is an adjective, and adjectives do not take articles by themselves. …
expressions - "it's best" - how should it be used? - English …
Dec 8, 2020 · 3 "It's best (if) he (not) buy it tomorrow." is not a subjunctive form, and some options do not work well. 3A It's best he buy it tomorrow. the verb tense is wrong with 3A. Better would …
word choice - "his best-seller book" or "his best-selling book ...
Jun 12, 2016 · @J.R. If something is a New York Times Best Seller, the whole five word string is the adjective in use to modify book, although why book is specified is beyond me; perhaps to …
Word choice - Way of / to / for - Way of / to / for - English …
Jun 16, 2020 · The best way to use "the best way" is to follow it with an infinitive. However, this is not the only way to use the phrase; "the best way" can also be followed by of with a gerund: …
plural forms - It's/I'm acting in your best interest/interests ...
Dec 17, 2014 · have someone's (best) interests at heart (=want to help them): He claims he has only my best interests at heart. be in someone's/something's (best) interest(s) (=bring an …
"Best regards" vs. "Best Regards" - English Language Learners …
Dec 28, 2013 · The rule for formal letters is that only the first word should be capitalized (i.e. "Best regards"). Emails are less formal, so some of the rules are relaxed. That's why you're seeing …
Would be or will be - English Language Learners Stack Exchange
Oct 1, 2019 · It indicates items that (with the best understanding) are going to happen. Would is a conditional verb form. It states that something happens based on something else. Sometimes …
What is the correct usage of "deems fit" phrase?
Nov 15, 2016 · This plan of creating an electoral college to select the president was expected to secure the choice by the best citizens of each state, in a tranquil and deliberate way, of the …
difference - "What was best" vs "what was the best"? - English …
Oct 18, 2018 · On the linked page, best is used as an adverb, modifying the verb knew. In that context, the phrase the best can also be used as if it were an adverb. The meaning is …
adverbs - About "best" , "the best" , and "most" - English …
Oct 20, 2016 · I like you best. I like chocolate best, better than anything else. can be used when what one is choosing from is not specified. I like you the best. Between chocolate, vanilla, and …
articles - "it is best" vs. "it is the best" - English Language ...
Jan 2, 2016 · This is the best car in the garage. We use articles like the and a before nouns, like car. The word "best" is an adjective, and adjectives do not take articles by themselves. …
expressions - "it's best" - how should it be used? - English …
Dec 8, 2020 · 3 "It's best (if) he (not) buy it tomorrow." is not a subjunctive form, and some options do not work well. 3A It's best he buy it tomorrow. the verb tense is wrong with 3A. Better would …
word choice - "his best-seller book" or "his best-selling book ...
Jun 12, 2016 · @J.R. If something is a New York Times Best Seller, the whole five word string is the adjective in use to modify book, although why book is specified is beyond me; perhaps to …
Word choice - Way of / to / for - Way of / to / for - English …
Jun 16, 2020 · The best way to use "the best way" is to follow it with an infinitive. However, this is not the only way to use the phrase; "the best way" can also be followed by of with a gerund: …
plural forms - It's/I'm acting in your best interest/interests ...
Dec 17, 2014 · have someone's (best) interests at heart (=want to help them): He claims he has only my best interests at heart. be in someone's/something's (best) interest(s) (=bring an …
"Best regards" vs. "Best Regards" - English Language Learners …
Dec 28, 2013 · The rule for formal letters is that only the first word should be capitalized (i.e. "Best regards"). Emails are less formal, so some of the rules are relaxed. That's why you're seeing …
Would be or will be - English Language Learners Stack Exchange
Oct 1, 2019 · It indicates items that (with the best understanding) are going to happen. Would is a conditional verb form. It states that something happens based on something else. Sometimes …
What is the correct usage of "deems fit" phrase?
Nov 15, 2016 · This plan of creating an electoral college to select the president was expected to secure the choice by the best citizens of each state, in a tranquil and deliberate way, of the …
