A fool and his money are soon parted, so the saying goes. And if the job is done right, the fool doesn't even realize it's happened until the wily con artist has moved on to the next victim or the next town. In this entertaining and eye-opening book, Dennis M. Marlock, a retired cop and chairman of the board for the international law enforcement organization Professionals Against Confidence Crime, takes the reader into the mind and greedy heart of the con man. You'll learn the mechanics behind famous swindles such as the pigeon drop, the Jamaican switch, bank-examiner schemes, three-card monte and even fortune-telling. You'll find out why a good scam artist rarely gets caught and, if he does, how he gets away with the lightest punishment or no punishment at all. If you've ever read a news story about a sucker getting taken and wondered how he could have fallen for that, you need to read this book before an honest-faced stranger offers you a deal too good to pass up.

A sucker is still born every minute. In this modern and interconnected world, con-men are lurking everywhere – it’s never been easier for them to dupe us, take from us, and infiltrate our lives. One of the world’s leading and celebrated experts on con-games takes the reader through the history of cons, how they’ve been updated to the modern age, how they work, how to spot them, and how to protect yourself from being the victim of one. R. Paul Wilson is a con-man who works for the other side – our side. He has spent a lifetime learning, performing, studying, and teaching about the ins and outs of the con world in order to open up our eyes to the dangers lurking about us – and to show us how not to get taken. Paul has never made a living as a con-man, profiting off of marks – he has used his expertise throughout his life to help people avoid cons. In this fascinating book, Paul takes the reader through the history and developments of the con game, what elements from the past are based on basic human psychology and have stood the test of time, what has been updated for the modern era and how it’s getting used in the computer age, the structure of how these cons work, and – most importantly - how to recognize one, protect yourself and your loved ones, and avoid becoming just another sucker.

A practical guide to avoiding the most common scams, from a fraud-fighting expert U.S. consumers lose billions of dollars each year to scam artists—and the next victim could be you. While anyone can be targeted, many victims are older. In AARP's Outsmarting the Scam Artists, renowned fraud-fighter Doug Shadel offers practical advice for consumers who want to protect their money as well as the financial assets of their parents and families. Despite the rise of scams, many people are embarrassed to admit they've been victimized. The author helps break the cycle of shame by including accounts from the people who've been scammed as well as tips from a surprising source: convicted con artists who reveal how they've defrauded people like you. Get practical tips to combat all kinds of scams, from simple lottery tickets to non-existent oil and gas deals and religious ponzi schemes Learn how to protect yourself by securing your mailbox and fraud-proofing your trash Get inside the head of sophisticated scam artists to discover how you can become the type of individual they avoid Scammers are everywhere. But with Outsmarting the Scam Artists in hand, you can protect yourself and your money.

Are you at risk of being scammed? Former con artist and bestselling author of Catch Me If You Can Frank Abagnale shows you how to stop scammers in their tracks. Maybe you're wondering how to make the scam phone calls stop. Perhaps someone has stolen your credit card number. Or you've been a victim of identity theft. Even if you haven't yet been the target of a crime, con artists are always out there, waiting for the right moment to steal your information, your money, and your life. As one of the world's most respected authorities on the subjects of fraud, forgery, and cyber security, Frank Abagnale knows how scammers work. In Scam Me If You Can, he reveals the latest tricks that today's scammers, hackers, and con artists use to steal your money and personal information--often online and over the phone. Using plain language and vivid examples, Abagnale reveals hundreds of tips, including: The best way to protect your phone from being hacked The only time you should ever use a debit card The one type of photo you should never post on social media The only conditions under which you should use WiFi networks at the airport The safest way to use an ATM With his simple but counterintuitive rules, Abagnale also makes use of his insider intel to paint a picture of cybercrimes that haven't become widespread yet.

A whimsical resource for low-risk grifters provides a treasury of humorous tips and historical facts about the art of the con, in a volume that outlines easy-to-follow swindles that can be used to score free meals, good tickets, bar bets, and more.

Everywhere the Yellow Kid looks he sees money—too bad it's yours.

The classic 1940 study of con men and con games that Luc Sante in Salon called “a bonanza of wild but credible stories, told concisely with deadpan humor, as sly and rich in atmosphere as anything this side of Mark Twain.” “Of all the grifters, the confidence man is the aristocrat,” wrote David Maurer, a proposition he definitely proved in The Big Con, one of the most colorful, well-researched, and entertaining works of criminology ever written. A professor of linguistics who specialized in underworld argot, Maurer won the trust of hundreds of swindlers, who let him in on not simply their language but their folkways and the astonishingly complex and elaborate schemes whereby unsuspecting marks, hooked by their own greed and dishonesty, were “taken off” – i.e. cheated—of thousands upon thousands of dollars. The Big Con is a treasure trove of American lingo (the write, the rag, the payoff, ropers, shills, the cold poke, the convincer, to put on the send) and indelible characters (Yellow Kid Weil, Barney the Patch, the Seldom Seen Kid, Limehouse Chappie, Larry the Lug). It served as the source for the Oscar-winning film The Sting.