Frank Abagnale - The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, Americas #1 Crime

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.

ALSO BY FRANK W. ABAGNALE

Catch Me If You Can (with Stan Redding)

APPENDIX

[FRAUD RESOURCES]

Abagnale & Associates

(800) 2377443
www.abagnale.com
Secure document consultants.

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

(800) 424-3410
www.aarp.org

A national organization of people fifty years or older, it offers tips on fraud prevention, especially crimes against the elderly.

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

(800) 245-3321
www.cfenet.com

An international organization dedicated to fighting fraud and white-collar crime through prevention and education.

Authentication NewsReconnaissance International

www.reconnaissance-intl.com
(303) 779-1096U. S.
44 (0) 1784-497008England

A trade publication that covers counterfeiting of all manner of products and news of the latest techniques to combat counterfeiting.

Boise Cascade

(503) 224-7250
www.bc.com

A leading manufacturer of secure check stock. Although individuals or companies cant buy checks from them, printers can purchase their paper.

Consumer Federation of America

(202) 387-6121
www.consumerfed.org

A national organization of consumer groups, it dispenses information on fraud and acts as an advocate for consumers.

Council of Better Business Bureaus

(703) 276-0100
www.bbb.org

An organization of local Better Business Bureaus, it provides consumer assistance and tries to arbitrate consumer complaints. It can direct you to your local Better Business Bureau.

Council of Foundations

(202) 466-6512
www.cof.org

A nonprofit association of grantmaking foundations, this is a good resource to check on the legitimacy of a charity or foundation.

Department of JusticeIdentity theft:

www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/idtheft.htm

This government website offers tips on how to prevent identity theft and lists recent cases.

Equifax

Credit Bureau
(800) 525-6285 (report fraud)
www.equifax.com

One of the three major credit reporting agencies. It furnishes information and tips about preventing fraud.

Experian

Credit Bureau
(888) 397-3742
www.experian.com

Another of the major credit reporting agencies that also offers suggestions on guarding against fraud.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

(202) 324-3000
www.fbi.gov

The Justice Departments law enforcement arm, the FBI investigates federal crimes and offers tips on fraud prevention and lists of the most common frauds.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

(800) 934-FDIC
www.fdic.gov

The entity that insures bank deposits and promotes sound banking practices. It provides consumer assistance in dealing with banking matters under federal consumer protection laws.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

(202) 326-2222
www.ftc.gov

The government agency that enforces many federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. The place to go for information, or to file a complaint for things like loan scams, telemarketing fraud, charity scams, phone swindles, lottery scams, and identity theft.

Immigration and Naturalization Services

(202) 514-1900
www.usdoj.gov

The government agency that deals with immigration matters, and the place to go for information about passport fraud and scams involving fraudulent immigration documents.

InterGov

(317) 823-0377
www.intergov.org

An international organization devoted to safe use of the Internet, it offers online scam prevention services.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

(800) 829-1040
www.irs.ustreas.gov

The IRS provides information on tax frauds and investigates tax crimes and related financial crimes. Companies can report embezzlers to the IRS and consumers can file complaints about fraudulent or deceptive charities with the agency.

The Nilson Report

(805) 983-0448
www.nilsonreport.com

The leading trade publication covering consumer payment systems.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

(800) 613-6742
www.occ.treas.gov

The agency of the Department of Treasury that regulates national banks and deals with fraud involving these banks.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

(619) 298-3396
www.privacyrights.org

A nonprofit consumer information, research, and advocacy program that offers tips on how to safeguard your personal privacy. It deals with issues like Internet privacy, identity theft, telemarketing, medical records, workplace privacy, among others.

Product & Image Security Magazine

(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.