In this book Mr. Abagnale gives his inside perspective on forgery, counterfeiting, scams, Internet fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft, bank fraud, embezzlement, counterfeit products and goods, securities fraud, computer hacking, and more. Mr. Abagnale opens the book by bringing his readers up to date where Catch Me If You Can left off. The world is awash in fraud, from the guy who cashes a bum check to the computer interloper to the factory churning out counterfeit detergent. Because prosecution of white-collar criminals is so rare, I believe that prevention is the only useful way to prevent being scammed. In this book, I take you deep inside the world and mind of the con artist, showing you just how he pulls off his scams and what you can do to avoid becoming his next victim.
Con artists are remarkably clever.
You couldn't imagine some of the things they actually think up. Just by learning some of the amazing and intricate tricks of the trade, you'll become a smarter consumer and businessman. Criminals have a deceptive mind, and they go through life looking for loopholes and cracks in the system. My hope is that this book will make people look at the world in a different way, because only by understanding how the criminal thinks can one insulate oneself from fraud and its horrors. The general public - basically anyone who writes a check, owns a credit card, uses an ATM, shops in a store, or works or shops on a computer.