3 ms·

I read a non-fiction book by Frank Abagnale (inspiration for Catch Me If You Can) about common forms of fraud, and it's remarkable how often people are caught e

by zachmu 3y ago

I read a non-fiction book by Frank Abagnale (inspiration for Catch Me If You Can) about common forms of fraud, and it's remarkable how often people are caught embezzling because they do something dumb like buy a flashy car that attracts attention from coworkers. Embezzling in the pre-computer age was pretty easy to get away with if you would just avoid drawing attention to yourself, but people just can't help it.

nkingsy 3y ago
psa that dude pretty much invented his life story out of whole cloth.
- knodi123 3y ago
  The true story behind The Wolf Of Wall Street was pretty exaggerated due to the author wanting to make a better drama, too.
- zachmu 3y ago
  It's kind of funny how willing everyone was to believe an admitted conman. The book I read of his was "The Art of the Steal", and it wasn't really about his personal history, more about his work as an anti-fraud consultant drawing from real-world cases. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_Steal https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_St...
  - marcosdumay 3y ago
    The penalty for being wrong was none, and the story was quite entertaining. Why not hold it as true?
  - datavirtue 3y ago
    Sometimes there is inertia from fooling someone credible and influential. Once you have them you sail through everyone else. If the person later discovered your fraud they aren't likely to expose it because it would ruin their credibility. I have seen banks get taken by people and just sweep shit under the rug.
- nsxwolf 3y ago
  Tricking Steven Spielberg into directing a movie about you is the ultimate con.
  - BjoernKW 3y ago
    In case of a good story, I suppose Spielberg couldn't care less if that story is entirely based on facts or mere fiction (and a good story it is).
jamestimmins 3y ago
This is a surprisingly common way that spies get caught, and the FBI even includes "buying things they can't afford" in their list of ways to "spot a possible insider threat". https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/how-to-spot-a-possible-insider-threat https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/how-to-spot-a-possible-insi...
jnsaff2 3y ago
> non-fiction book by Frank Abagnale yea, as others have pointed out, non-fiction is not appropriate label for this book.
- zachmu 3y ago
  Different book https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_Steal https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_St...
  - margalabargala 3y ago
    Unless evidence to the contrary presents itself, it seems appropriate to assume that all books written by the conman known to present fiction as fact share similar relationships with the truth.
gwd 3y ago
I half wonder if that's actually some part of their brain which actually wants to be caught.
- Jensson 3y ago
  I think they just underestimate how much people investigate and think about strange things that doesn't add up.
ip26 3y ago
There's a basic tension - why embezzle, only to not spend the money?
- ghostbrainalpha 3y ago
  You can still spend the money. But you don't need to show off in front of the people you are stealing the money from. There are a bunch of accounting firms, law firms, and consulting agencies that don't allow their employees to wear super expensive clothing, jewelry or drive luxury cars in front of their clients. And they aren't even doing anything illegal.
rasz 3y ago
> caught embezzling because they do something dumb like buy a flashy car that attracts attention from coworkers It sounds plausible, but is not true like everything else by Abagnale. Dixon (stop it!) is a direct proof: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/12/dixon-illinois-city-fraud-betrayal-00075869 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/12/dixon-illi... https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/11/inside-the-biggest-municipal-fraud-scheme-in-u-s-history/ https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/11/inside-the-biggest-mu... 20 year span, $50 million stolen in most brazen way possible. Buying expensive horses and giving Hermes bags as gifts on small town comptroller salary, nobody questioned it.
wyclif 3y ago
It's also the key lesson of the Christmas party scene in Goodfellas: https://youtu.be/60Lobcj6_jM https://youtu.be/60Lobcj6_jM

by zachmu 3y ago

nkingsy 3y ago

psa that dude pretty much invented his life story out of whole cloth.

knodi123 3y ago
The true story behind The Wolf Of Wall Street was pretty exaggerated due to the author wanting to make a better drama, too.
zachmu 3y ago
It's kind of funny how willing everyone was to believe an admitted conman. The book I read of his was "The Art of the Steal", and it wasn't really about his personal history, more about his work as an anti-fraud consultant drawing from real-world cases. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_Steal https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_St...
- marcosdumay 3y ago
  The penalty for being wrong was none, and the story was quite entertaining. Why not hold it as true?
- datavirtue 3y ago
  Sometimes there is inertia from fooling someone credible and influential. Once you have them you sail through everyone else. If the person later discovered your fraud they aren't likely to expose it because it would ruin their credibility. I have seen banks get taken by people and just sweep shit under the rug.
nsxwolf 3y ago
Tricking Steven Spielberg into directing a movie about you is the ultimate con.
- BjoernKW 3y ago
  In case of a good story, I suppose Spielberg couldn't care less if that story is entirely based on facts or mere fiction (and a good story it is).

jamestimmins 3y ago

This is a surprisingly common way that spies get caught, and the FBI even includes "buying things they can't afford" in their list of ways to "spot a possible insider threat". https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/how-to-spot-a-possible-insider-threat https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/how-to-spot-a-possible-insi...

jnsaff2 3y ago

> non-fiction book by Frank Abagnale yea, as others have pointed out, non-fiction is not appropriate label for this book.

zachmu 3y ago
Different book https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_Steal https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138841.The_Art_of_the_St...
- margalabargala 3y ago
  Unless evidence to the contrary presents itself, it seems appropriate to assume that all books written by the conman known to present fiction as fact share similar relationships with the truth.

gwd 3y ago

I half wonder if that's actually some part of their brain which actually wants to be caught.

Jensson 3y ago
I think they just underestimate how much people investigate and think about strange things that doesn't add up.

ip26 3y ago

There's a basic tension - why embezzle, only to not spend the money?

ghostbrainalpha 3y ago
You can still spend the money. But you don't need to show off in front of the people you are stealing the money from. There are a bunch of accounting firms, law firms, and consulting agencies that don't allow their employees to wear super expensive clothing, jewelry or drive luxury cars in front of their clients. And they aren't even doing anything illegal.

rasz 3y ago

> caught embezzling because they do something dumb like buy a flashy car that attracts attention from coworkers It sounds plausible, but is not true like everything else by Abagnale. Dixon (stop it!) is a direct proof: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/12/dixon-illinois-city-fraud-betrayal-00075869 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/05/12/dixon-illi... https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/11/inside-the-biggest-municipal-fraud-scheme-in-u-s-history/ https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/11/inside-the-biggest-mu... 20 year span, $50 million stolen in most brazen way possible. Buying expensive horses and giving Hermes bags as gifts on small town comptroller salary, nobody questioned it.

wyclif 3y ago

It's also the key lesson of the Christmas party scene in Goodfellas: https://youtu.be/60Lobcj6_jM https://youtu.be/60Lobcj6_jM