How to outsmart a scam: Strategies from a legendary con man | Frank W. Abagnale | Big Think
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2019
- How to outsmart a scam: Strategies from legendary con man
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In today's world, anyone can be targeted by scams -- even famous con man Frank W. Abagnale. For this reason he shares his top advice for protecting yourself against fraud.
When receiving a suspicious call, be aware of the two major red flags of immediacy and info-sharing. Is the person asking for money, and they need it right now? Does the person want sensitive personal information like a social security number or date of birth? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, it's probably a scam.
Scammers obtain much of their info from a victim's social media accounts. Caution is key for prevention, and education is the most powerful tool in outsmarting this type of crime.
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FRANK W. ABAGNALE
Frank W. Abagnale is one of the world's most respected authorities on the subjects of forgery, embezzlement and secure documents. Mr. Abagnale has been associated with the FBI for over four decades. He lectures extensively at the FBI Academy and for the field offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is a faculty member at the National Advocacy Center (NAC) which is operated by the Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys. More than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations and law enforcement agencies use his fraud prevention programs.
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TRANSCRIPT:
FRANK W. ABAGNALE: It doesn't matter who you are. Anybody can be scammed. I mean I know that I can be scammed. Anybody can be scammed. So, the target is not just necessarily someone who you might think is an easy pushover or that might not be real intelligent. It can be anybody.
So doing the research for this book I realized that no matter how sophisticated the scam was or no matter how amateur it was and I looked at every type of scam I found that there were really basically two red flags. At some point someone was either going to ask me for money, and it had to be immediate. Go down to Walmart, get me a Green Dot card, read the number back to me, give me your bank account number, give me a credit card over the phone. It had to be right now, this moment. Or I was going to ask you for information. Whats your social security number? Whats your date of birth? Where do you bank? Whats your credit card number?
Every scam has that red flag. So one of the things I realized is that you start to recognize those red flags no matter what the scam, whether its a romance scam or its someone trying to say its a grandparent scam, sweepstakes scam. If you start to recognize those flags you know it. Of course, all con artists try to get people under the ether. The only thing thats real scary today is that 50 years ago when I did it, and there were con men and con women, which basically stood for confidence men, they had to gain your confidence and it was one-on-one. You were sitting right in front of me. I had to dress well, speak well, have a good vocabulary. And, of course, you got to like me, know me and we had a relationship. Because of that there was some emotion and obviously there was some compassion. I might have said well Im not going to take this guy for all his money. Hes kind of a nice guy. Im just going to take some of his money. I dont want to leave him broke.
The difference today is the con man is someone sitting in a kitchen with a cup of coffee in their pajamas on a laptop in Moscow. They never see you. You never see them. There is no emotion. The victim never sees you. The victim doesnt know theyre being victimized, so there is no compassion. I find that they rob you for every single penny they have and theres no compassion involved at all.
One of the things Ive found doing the research for the book is that millennials are scammed more often than seniors but seniors lose more money because they have more money. I actually realized that anybody can be scammed. I do a podcast out of Washington DC for AARP called The Perfect Scam. When people get scammed, we send an investigator out to interview them and talk to them, and then I later do a podcast about that particular scam. Weve had two former FBI directors in their 70s and 80s now that have been scammed.
You know these are typically like grandparent scams. A grandparent scam is one of the most common scams today where basically the phone rings in the evening, you go over and the caller ID says that its a New York police department. Right away you believe the caller ID because it says its...
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Everyone needs to learn how to spot scammers! And just for $19.99 I can show you how to spot them.
where do I send the money?
but wait, there's less, if you act now you'll receive half the order for twice the price!
@@DevinOtt OMG where do i sign???!!!
Lomogrammaton for $40 I will teach you never to fall for a scam again guaranteed or your money back.
I'll do even better for $50 I will teach you never to fall for a scam again guaranteed or your money bXK.
Today I learned that 'con man' was short for 'confidence man'.
I tell this to people pitching MLM schemes and most of the time it goes straight over their head. "You're a really good confidence man." is my way of saying "f*** you, scammer!"
@@joshn2342323 Haha! That's brilliant.
Is that true or is he just being a conman
Austin Kelly, we need your Social Security number to unlock that answer for you.
I've learn it watching Lost.
Yeah Frank, let's bring back the glory days of scamming when con men like you had a heart. Frank "Saintly Scammer" Abagnale
This guy is legit trying to defend his old ways, so scamming but in a certain way
Title: How to outsmart a scam
Answer: Be taught all of the scams
Not what he said
@@fahmyboy1 literally what he said.
@TheDavid771 and Nick Athan The key to outsmarting a scam is to be aware of the two red flags. If they ask for money right now or personal information like bank account numbers then you assume it's a scam. If that's not enough of an answer for you then you need to sober up or become a ward of the state, whichever applies.
oh my god..This speaks so much to me as I was recently scammed out of my throne in Nigeria. Please donate to help me get my kingdom back and I will reward you when im king again ten fold!
ALP7A oh how unfortunate sir king. Please provide me with contact information and I will arrange for as much help as I can.
I found out (years later) that when I was little, a child psychologist told my family that I "would never fall for a scam." In retrospect, I think what he should have said is "this kid is chronically paranoid."
ugh, bad psychologists.....
That's what *they* want you to think...
Maybe that was his way of saying that nicely. 😄
He just sold his book to so many people. That's a real con man.
Fun story about Frank Abagnale, when he was younger, at least, the square in his suit pocket was usually a pair of women’s underpants. Not a joke. The man told me himself in NY in like 1988. As a kid I thought it was amazing. Nice guy.
So why would the pocket square have to be girls panties?
He just tricked us into believing that he was not Jon Lovitz
Everyone in MLMs should watch this (and also see the FTC's detailed report on why those "businesses" leave most people with lost money they'll never see again).
Introduction to marketing and advertising.
My Mom just got a call from probably Jamaica -combination of IRS, Social Security, threats to jail right now... She hung up - in part thanks to this video and me showing it to her. But was trembling. With chronic back pain due to an injury...
Thanks for this video to help in a nutshell show what to absolutely avoid. Due to it she knew it was absolutely a scam and hung up. Still even as impersonal as intellectually it was still was scary.
Another thing to put out:
"If the Government or some big company/agency really thinks you are scamming them, your paperwork is bad, etc. They aren't going to call you and ask money. They are going to have a SWAT team bust down the door and shoot the Frichon Biche (Not a poodle) Robocop 80s style in front of you and take you away. Or the agency will stop payment and let you call THEM to find out. No warning. Remember the 60s and decades after when they spent $3 million in taxpayer money to go through the garbage of old Hippies hoping for a pot clipping? They ain't going to let him off for $300 in bitcoin"...
Wow, I can spot a scam when a stranger asks me for personal info. No way! What a revelation! Such wisdom!
It's surprising, then, just how many are still scammed.
Good sir please can you give me your credit card info so I can confirm the one in our records? Oh, and what is your mother's maiden name?
Nosy Greedy Busybodies dont know how to let the phone go to voicemail when it's not important. 👎😠
That police scam was pretty smart. Intuitively though, my first thought was to say that I would come down to get him myself though, and pay at the station.
Yeah, who ever thought giving credit card information on the phone was a good idea? It's like entering it on an http website you received by email from a certain prince.
Thanks Frank for the heads up
I always though con in conman stood for convict, bit now I know it's confidence man!
One thing that keeps con men/women far away from me is that I'm not greedy.
How do I know this isn't a scam?
Derik Costa listen, just tell me your date of birth and mother’s maiden name and I can figure that out for you.
He didn't ask you for money or information.
Derik Costa Derek its me Eddie Spaghetti god I love you so much
Beware of this scam. A couple, I do not know why they did this, pretend to lose something and play out this scenario in front of me. I was sitting down playing solitaire on my phone. They said that their phone/s was out of credit and needed my WiFi hotspot to secure an Uber ride home. After a little thought I said ‘no, you two look like scammers’ and without a rebuttal within seconds they had disappeared. In this scam once they connect to your hotspot they hack your phones contents-bank account details, passwords etc.
Or
"How to get conned by Frank to watch his story in the cinema."
I am involved in what I deem to being scammed for the past few years by US companies, and the most recent one involved is the mobile phone company I let go. And what I think is the common process many of these US companies use, is that you’ll be to busy to contest any false charges or undermining offers because of the lack of legal information and personal time. I would expect that most of the country is not able to afford legal representation for these types of issues and others types of legality as well. In the closing stages the outcome personally seems inadequate when you do give effort because of cost, monetarily and personal. I guess it’s just a part of doing business in the US with a deficient ending in response, and after great lengths of time, is, “oh, my mistake.”
There is another tactics smaller business have used on me, and that is a smile upfront, and then ignore your issues, there’s more than this although, you‘re in proficient company Frank. It seems to me you are an expert business man.
Haha even when my partner ask me for money I think she wants to scam me.
Oh wow, so educational...
The one that inspired Catch Me If You Can
The state. Best scam artist EVER
My mom would have gone for child or grandchild spending the weekend in jail to learn not to drive DUI.
I saw his biography on biograpics
Doctor lawyer pilot
And what not 😂
He's the subject of the film "Catch Me If You Can" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks.
I'm a fan of Crime Prevention Unit 001
1:35 Man, he's still doing it! He just got you to believe his actions were justified, I bet.
The confetti man is in it for the treats.
love this channel
Being a struggling Narcissist, Big Ego, I once sold a Car that the test Driver, listened to me and ended up getting a nudge and about 2500 damage. I still sold it, and even had them upgrade, Im not proud. Now I take them to task, I use my OSINT and other intelligence techniques to find them, then it gets really fun. You do not bullshit a bullshitter. Nor do you threaten someone who will actually dig two graves. I essentially fear nothing which I do not control. What I do control is me, if you threaten me, I don't care if you live in a cave in Afghan, or at the top of a tall mountain. With the tools at my disposal, I will find you and then Ihave to make a choice, HOW much time do I want to allot, so that by the time we are done, you are no longer smiling and will look out your window FOREVER. However sometimes I do not know if I am slaying the Dragon to save the Princess or to Take its place, dropping your narcissism is about as hard as dropping your eyes from your head, Frank, I have always respected your wisdom, it takes a real man to make the choices you have made, it truly does. Anyone who has made these choices understands the HELL you enter before you feel even the smallest emotion which you can trust. then its still a battle. I dont recommend trying to go it alone, It either will Kill you or Cure you and you wont know until you accept one or the other. God Bless
Taking money is compassion because money is not real. And when people realize that there being scammed by getting money, that was never even real in the first place. And then thinking that someone took something that was never even there in the first place
Caught you!!!
« How to Outsmart a scam « then u get an ad for mindvalley before the video starts LMAO
So I must have a deceptive mind, then... Because no matter what anyone might want from me, I always consider whether it is a scam first.
another red flag is that you get conned after every scam xD
What's the second red flag?
Asking for person information.
it's worse than that - scammers are an industry not a single Russian sipping coffee in house apartment.
I'm a compassionate guy ill only steal some this guys money, not like KIDS NOWADAYS stealing ALL the money. Totally different
Catch him if you can
An ex-scammer with a heart giving us viewers tips on how to spot scams. When will the video "How to tell if your president is a conman" be uploaded?
That is just future money. So the more that you have now, the more money you will eventually have
I specialize my emails. So they cannot get to my money. or passcodes.
Has anyone fallen for the “turn $100 to 1500” thing?
Actually they sent me 6000$.
jp grumbach come on mannnnnn
That Nigerian prince needed my money!
The problem is if it's a popular scam even if horrible scam.
So...equities?
I got scammed from neighbored it’s could be even your best friend , so always think twice
Actually I am here as a real compassionate and I want to tell you that everything is not a scam. I am thinking about using tdcs to help people with depression and fatigue. Next time you think about helping someone, think if you could stop someone from killing themselves, if you could improve someone's life, would you do it?
Im always broke so there is nothing to scam
Save 5 mins. Don't give money to anyone asking for it.
So this video is about a former scammer teach people how to not getting scammed by other scammer
I mean I love this talk, Frank was very.... well, frank lol. But that was some good spin at the end sticking up for gullible people. There's nothing noble about being ignorant, feeble, non vigilant, and lazy. If you reach the age of seventy and still can't tell s*** from shinola then you deserve to get ripped off
And I completely reject the notion of "Because it happened to a former FBI director it can happen to you" defense. I've learned over the past couple of years that almost any a**hole can head up a government agency in America
In the first minute when he says "all scams involve the scammer immediately asking for something" tells me he doesn't know what he's talking about. Take cat fishing as an example. It's a long term game to gain trust and eventually ask for money. Why are the police and FBI being trained by someone who is probably too old to be in touch with the modern day scams? This is quite concerning...
So obviously scamming is legal
When people on yt do the right thing, that is telling how they were scammed the common reaction is often:
How stupid. Never not me.
These are the types of fools who might fall when moment and mood come together.
I just won the lottery in Nigeria!!!!! Give the money back to the people of Nigeria..
Jokes on them I have no money to take
I think that anybody have been scammed in order to avoid it in the future
Who is the biggest criminal in the world? Would you say????
is bitcoin a scam ?
Today I won $2k worth of vacations in Mexico, Bahamas, and Caribbean where I can stay at some hotels for free.
Let's play a drinking game: Drink every time he says "scam"
That's the reason smart people don't pose their entire lives on social media.
I wonder how he turned into a Ben Franklin wannabe..? 🤔
How do we know this Jon Lovitz looking man is not setting us up for a scam? Don't you hate to be this way? Social Media is so social it can be downright unsocial.
This sounds like a scam
👋 Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible”! My top entrepreneur @evenkingsfall (his insta) stresses you have to THINK BIG to WIN BIG! Always keep that mindset! Onwards and upwards 🖤
So what's the difference between a con man and your average sales guy lol nothing against sales guys because he all sell on daily basis.
He's not as good looking as Leo DeCrapio' is he ?
Fifty years can really age a fella
The Trump campaign has a lot of data on the people who have contributed financially also the guy who created a gofundme for the wall. They should be an easy target easy to scam them.
Why would you take an acknowledgement con man's advice on anything, even how to avoid a scam?
Because who better than a con man to tell you how to avoid being conned?? It's the same with hackers~who better to learn from? Or a break and enter artist about how to avoid being burgled?
Learning from the masters is extremely valuable, because they've been on both sides of the law, so know both the approach not to get caught as criminals, and teachers of those not wanting to be victims of people like them. Makes perfect sense.
What kinda thinking is this, you can learn shit from virtually anyone
@@rhijulbec1 But how do you know you're being taught information that will prevent harm to yourself rather than cause it?
@@lucash8234
Because those who do a 180 and become model citizens ~like the man in this video~will want money to tell you! I'm sort of joking, but, in a way, it's true. These guys usually make their honest living by holding talks, paid for with tickets you buy, to tell you how to avoid people like him.
I'm not talking about some stranger you meet telling you how to avoid getting played~they ARE the cons (confidence persons~because it isn't all men). Cons will make you trust them. Whereas this fellow will say simply "If it sounds too good to be true? It. Is!"
My motto is "There's no such thing as free. There's always a price."
Hope that helps explain. I'll try to answer if you have other questions.
@@rhijulbec1 lol "burgled"