Frank Abagnale - The Art of the Steal

(847) 318-1524

www.eci-internationa.com/ pismain.htm

The official journal of the Label and Tag Security International Association, it covers the problems of counterfeiting, retail theft, and product tampering, along with solutions to these threats.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

(202) 942-8088

www.sec.gov

The agency that regulates sales of securities and public offerings, it can answer questions about security transactions and verify the registration of securities dealers and firms.

Social Security Administration

(800) 772-1213

www.ssa.gov

The government agency that administers the Social Security program, it offers a hot line to report fraud involving your Social Security number and furnishes information on identity theft.

Standard Register Company

(800) 755-6405

www.standardregister.com

An industry leader in providing secure documents. It offers a wide array of security features that will protect your documents against fraud. It services many of the leading Fortune 500 companies.

TeleCheck

(800) 835-3243

www.telecheck.com

The leading check acceptance company, it offers electronic check conversion, check guarantee, and check verification services to businesses and merchants.

TransUnion

Credit Bureau

(800) 680-7289

www.transunion.com

One of the three major credit reporting agencies. It disseminates an array of fraud prevention information.

United States Federal Reserve Bank

(202) 452-3946

www.federalreserve.gov

The body that regulates state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System.

United States Secret Service

(202) 406-5708

www.treas.gov/usss

The government agency charged with investigating counterfeiting of U.S. currency and safeguarding the payment and financial systems of the United States. It also investigates financial institution fraud, computer fraud, and cases involving false identity documents, among other crimes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

More people helped in the preparation of this book than I could name, but I would like to express my thanks to all those who shared their stories of fraud with me, especially Michelle Brown, Jim Fowler, the director of security at Unilever, E. King Rogers, the vice president of loss prevention at Target, and Lewis Kontnik, the publisher of Authentication News.

I would also like to express my appreciation to the three thousand companies and associations that have given me the opportunity to work with them over the years, most notably the Standard Register Company, Profit Recovery Group, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Citibank, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Key Bank, Union Bank of California, First Data Corporation, Data Business Forms-Canada, and Leigh-Mardon-Australia.

I owe a debt of gratitude to all of the outstanding and truly dedicated men and women of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who have supported me over the last twenty-five years and have afforded me the great privilege of being able to teach at the FBI Academy and assist with programs in the field offices of the bureau throughout the United States.

For their editorial wisdom, my thanks to Charles Conrad of Broadway Books, as well as to his assistant, Becky Cole. I could not have written this book without the help of Sonny Kleinfield, and I thank him for all his assistance and encouragement.

Most important of all, a special acknowledgment to my wonderful and loving wife, Kelly, who has supported me and loved me for more than twenty-five years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author of Catch Me If You Can, Frank W. Abagnaleis now one of the world’s most respected authorities on counterfeiting and secure documents. For more than twenty-five years he has worked with the FBI’s Financial Crimes Unit. Today he teaches at the FBI Academy and for the FBI’s National Academy, a program that instructs local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies nationwide. The founder of a secure-document corporation based in Washington, D.C., he lectures regularly worldwide. He lives in the Midwest with his wife and three sons.

ALSO BY FRANK W. ABAGNALE

Catch Me If You Can (with Stan Redding)

This book is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subject of the prevention of fraud. It is sold with the understanding that neither the Author nor the Publisher is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services by publishing this book. As each individual situation is unique, questions relevant to the prevention of fraud and specific to the individual should be addressed to an appropriate professional to ensure that the situation has been evaluated carefully and appropriately. The Authors and Publisher specifically disclaim any liability, loss, or risk which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this work.

THE ART OF THE STEAL. Copyright © 2001 by Frank W. Abagnale. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information, address Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc., 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

Broadway Books titles may be purchased for business or promotional use or for special sales. For information, please write to: Special Markets Department, Random House, Inc., 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Abagnale, Frank W., 1948–

The art of the steal: how to protect yourself and your business from

fraud—America’s #1 crime / by Frank W. Abagnale.—1st ed.

p. cm.

1. Fraud—United States. 2. Swindlers and swindling—United States.

3. Consumer protection—United States. I. Title.

HV6695 .A23 2001

362.88—dc21 2001035607

eISBN: 978-0-7679-1091-0

v3.0