3, Frank Abagnale was most successful at getting a job as aa. lawyerb. professor

4. Prison conditions were better for Frank Abasnale inFrancethe United States

5. Frank Abagnale,s criminal experience helped hima. publish a bookb. start a family

Now discuss your onswers with o portner.

( EXPRESS oplNloNs

a.b.

Read the story of Michelle Brown,o reot womon who experienced identity theft. This is owe of froud in which a person's bonking ond other informotion is used by o criminor,usuolly to buy things. The story appeors in The Art of the Steal by Froni Abognale.

Discuss the guestions with the closs.l.'vVhich of Abagnale's impersonations do you think was the most dangerous?

\{hy?2. What do you think was more important to Abagnale-money or respect?3. Do you think that Abagnale was punished fairly for his fraud? Explain your

answell

The lllkhelle Broun ttor'r:

ldentitg Theft-

It began on a lvinter day lvith a seemingly ordinary message on an answering machine.It rvas from someone at the bank. Something about her newbodge Rrm pickrip and thepaymenr pasl due on the loan . .

(continued on next page)

I credit analyst: a bank eurployee rvho studies customers, bill_paying records

Michelle Brown was a single rvoman in her late twenties. She lived in southernCalifornia and worked as a credit analystl. She was cheerftil, and people found her fun to!1 arould Friends were al*ays terling herhowshe was too.rrice. she *.orked hard irnd lvastidy with her finances. she orvned fiftee'credit cards b't had never been rate or.r a singrepayment. Ever since she was seventeen, she had perfect credit. She liked e'er,vthing in"herIife to be per'fecr.

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Fraud 25

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questions, the man became suspicious and. started questioning Abagnale,s honesty.

4 The young con man escaped from tirisuncomfortable situation by heading to thewestern United States. There he visitedcollege campuses in Utah, where he wasimpressed with the beauty of femalestudents. He decided to apply for a summerteaching position, which he obtained bymaking a fake transcript from ColumbiaUniversity and wdting false letters ofrecommendation. Abagnale was quite happyto work as a "professor.,, To prepare for class,he simply used the textbook, making sure tostay one chapter ahead of the students.Abagnale also discussed his own personalexperiences in class, and the studentsresponded with much interest. But whensummer school ended, he could no longerstay in Utah. He knew that the FBI wassearching for him because he had beencashing phony checks all over the country.He moved to California and eventually toFrance, thinking he could live quietly and

_ safely there. However, he was wrong.5 , In France, Abagnale was recognizid by a

flight attendant and reported to theauthorities. Soon, he was in a French pison,where he almost died because of very littlefood and very dirty surroundings. After sixmonths, he was sent to a prison in Sweden.He leamed that police in several Europeancountfles were waiting to arrest him forcheck fraud, and he feared thar prrsonconditions in other places might be evenworse than those in France. Eventually,Sweden sent him to the United States, wherehe spent four years in federal pr ison.

6 After his release, Abagnale had a problemshared by many other cdminals: limited jobopportunities. He worked hard in variousentry-level positions and showed the abilityto become a top manage! but could not getany high positions because of his prisonbackground. He thought about returning to a

so''r€i Based on information in Frank w. Abagnare, catch Me 1f you can: The Amcuing TftLe story of the yonl&eslqnd Most Doting Con Mdtl in the History of Fun awl profit (Grosset & Dunlap, 1980).

life of crime, but decided instead to offer hisservices as a "white-collar crime specialist,,teaching banks and other businesses how toavoid becoming the victims of fraud. Soonhe was offered a position working with theFBI Financlal Cdmes Unit. Today, he runs hisown company. It specializes in protectingchecks and other documents against fraud.

7 His first book, Catch Me If you Can, wasmade into a Steven Spielberg film in 2002.Inone intewiew, he was asked if he had everthought about becoming an actor,considering his skill at impersonation. Theanswer was no. The real Frank Abagnale issatisfied with his real life as a companyowner and family man.

E*D

Ie*fiaf i: ajiijaf-rrlO tOm hankS

Fraud 23