When you think about people getting scammed, you probably think of the elderly getting conned out of money over the phone.
But my guest today says that Millennials are actually more likely to get scammed than senior citizens, and in fact, anybody of any age can get conned. He should know: he’s a former con man himself. His name is Frank Abagnale and his early life in which he forged checks and assumed various identities, including that of an airline pilot and doctor, was made famous by the movie Catch Me If You Can. After he served time for his crimes, he dedicated the next 50 years of his life to helping the government and businesses fight fraud. His most recent book, Scam Me If You Can: Simple Strategies to Outsmart Today’s Rip-off Artists, aims to educate regular citizens about the most common scams out there and how to avoid them. Today on the show Frank gives us the inside dirt on a bunch of different modern cons, from romance scams to investment fraud to scams involving rental properties. He reveals the insidious ways that scammers have gotten more sophisticated with their cons, the red flags to look for when you’re approached with one, and how to avoid getting duped. And he explains why he’s never used a debit card.
Show Highlights
- How Frank ended up as a young con artist
- How Frank then turned that into a career as a security consultant
- The changing nature of Frank’s work as technology has developed
- Why millennials are scammed more often than seniors nowadays
- High-level strategies that all scam artists use to gain your trust
- Two red flags that always pop up with scam artists
- How kids’ identities are getting stolen nowadays (and what parents can do)
- How to spot investment frauds
- Why you should never trust a phone call from a “government agency”
- Balancing convenience and security
- Why Frank doesn’t use a debit card
- How do vacation rental frauds work?
- Why are inheritance scams on the rise?
- Why it’s important to tell someone if you’re being scammed (even though it’s embarrassing)
- What does cryptocurrency fraud look like?
Resources/People/Articles Mentioned in Podcast
- The Psychology of Scam Artists and How to Not Get Duped
- So You (or Your Wife) Wants to Join a Multi-Level Marketing Company
- My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams
- Going Undercover: How to Protect Your Privacy Online
- Understanding Credit
- Managing Your Online Reputation
- Bernie Madoff
- Getting a vacation rental? Watch for scams.
- How to Identify Cryptocurrency and ICO Scams
Connect With Frank
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Read the Transcript
Coming soon!
The post Podcast #545: How Not to Get Scammed, Conned, or Duped appeared first on The Art of Manliness.
