A biography for Frank Abagnalehasn’t been written yet.
“People say that life is short, but it isn't short. It's very long.”
“I use a shredder for bank statements and phone bills. Most people use ribbon shredders that cut things straight: we can put those back together in an hour. Look for a security microcut shredder, which cuts papers into confetti.”
“I taught at the FBI for four decades - how to think outside of the box and deal with social engineering.”
“It's quite flattering to have Leonardo DiCaprio play you in the movie. He's a great-looking young man.”
“If I had been brilliant or a genius, I wouldn't have needed to break the law just to survive.”
“When people write about me, they usually start off with the headline 'World's Greatest Con Man.'”
“I went from 198 pounds to 109 while I was in prison in France, and I had to tie my clothes on with rope.”
“I kept a notebook, a surreptitious journal in which I jotted down phrases, technical data, miscellaneous information, names, dates, places, telephone numbers, thoughts, and a collection of other data I thought was necessary or might prove helpful.”
“While I was on an undercover assignment in Texas, I met my wife, Kelly.”
“I was a millionaire twice over and half again before I was twenty-one. I stole every nickel of it and blew the bulk of the bundle on fine threads, gourmet foods, luxurious lodgings, fantastic foxes, fine wheels, and other sensual goodies.”
“I don't do online banking.”
“I know that people are fascinated by what I did as a teenager, but what I did was immoral, illegal, unethical, and something that I am not proud of - nor will I ever be proud of.”
“You can sit in a room and create anything you want on a laptop. That's why the real con men are gone.”
“In all the years I've taught at the FBI Academy, I've only seen crime get easier, faster, and harder to detect.”
“I spent five years of my youth in prison - some very bad prisons.”
“You should know, whether you live in the U.S. or in the U.K., that your identity has already been stolen.”
“The front of a cheque alone gives someone enough information to steal your identity.”
“I'm a true believer that you have a moral obligation to keep your employees honest, and that is why you have controls, so I'm never tempted or put in a position where I could do something to defraud my employer.”
“I have to be honest with you: When the FBI let me out of prison early to advise the agency on preventing fraud, I wasn't a changed person. I wasn't rehabilitated. But when I started working with the FBI, one of the most ethical groups of men and women in the world, I couldn't help but have some of that character rub off on me.”
“People have found very significant and simple ways to cheat their employer and get money out of their employers, and many companies lack good internal controls.”