CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Frank Abagnale knows a scam when he sees one. He was once an expert con man but for the last 40 years he’s been helping people and businesses stay out of the victims category.
West Virginia AARP hosted Abagnale in Charleston Tuesday. He met with law enforcement, business leaders and residents in his role as an AARP Fraud Watch Network Ambassador.
In an interview with MetroNews, Abagnale said education is the most powerful tool in fighting crime.
“I have found that you show people their risks and you tell them this is how this scam works when they get that phone call, that email, that sweepstakes scam, they already know that. They already know to avoid it,” he said.
Abagnale wrote about his con artist career in the book “Catch Me if You Can,” that was part of the 2002 movie by the same name. He said today’s scams are more sophisticated but three remain the most popular; the IRS back taxes scam, the email from Microsoft about Malware scam and the grandparents scam.
“All of these scams have been around for years and years and what has happened is technology breeds crime, it always has and always will. So the ability to commit these crimes from a kitchen in Moscow thousands of miles away and steal somebody’s life savings is very simple,” Abagnale said.
Abagnale, who served time in prison for his crimes, tells those he speaks to that there’s nothing wrong with being skeptical. If you have a doubt about a phone call or email you should call the AARP Fraud Network or police.
Abagnale said scammers in many cases are doing nothing more than capitalizing on crimes of opportunity.
“All of the information we give away on Facebook is unbelievable–mother’s maiden name, where we’re going on vacation, children’s names, pet’s name, dog’s name–I hear all the time, ‘Somebody stole my identity.’ “I say,” ‘No ma’am, you’re on Facebook, you’re on Twitter, you’re on Instagram. You gave them your identity they didn’t steal it,'” Abagnale said.
Abagnale urges all Internet purchases to be made with credit cards instead of debit cards. He also urges parents to guard the personal information of their children closely. He said identity thieves want to find out the Social Security numbers of children so they can keep that identity for a long time.
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. AARP’s Fraud Network Helpline can be reached at 1-877-908-3360.