Frank W. Abagnale’s Followers (288)

Frank W. Abagnale

Born

in New York, The United States

April 26, 1948

Genre

Biography, Crime, Nonfiction

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Born and raised in the Westchester County city of Bronxville, New York, Abagnale attended Iona Preparatory School, an all boys Catholic high school which is run by the Irish Christian Brothers. He was the third of four children (two brothers and one sister) born to a French mother, Paula Abagnale, and an American father, Frank William Abagnale, Sr.

One of the early signs of his future as a fraudster came when, after purchasing a car, he persuaded his father to lend him his Mobil card. With this card, he would purchase large quantities of car parts, such as tires, batteries, engines and fuel. The purchases were on paper only, the goods were never taken from the shelves. In an agreement with the gas station attendant, he would then immediately Born and raised in the Westchester County city of Bronxville, New York, Abagnale attended Iona Preparatory School, an all boys Catholic high school which is run by the Irish Christian Brothers. He was the third of four children (two brothers and one sister) born to a French mother, Paula Abagnale, and an American father, Frank William Abagnale, Sr.

One of the early signs of his future as a fraudster came when, after purchasing a car, he persuaded his father to lend him his Mobil card. With this card, he would purchase large quantities of car parts, such as tires, batteries, engines and fuel. The purchases were on paper only, the goods were never taken from the shelves. In an agreement with the gas station attendant, he would then immediately return the items for cash for less than the price at which they were purchased, the remainder being pocketed by the attendant. Not realizing that the card was in his father's name, he tricked his dad out of $3400, doing this to pay for dates, before the local Mobil branch sought his father out for questioning and expecting payment. Upon being confronted, Abagnale confessed to his father that "it's the girls that make me crazy", but escaped punishment for the incident. Later, his mother placed him for four months in a special Catholic Charities school for juvenile offenders.

In 1964, when he was 16, his parents divorced. The experience was so traumatic that he ran away during a court break. It was the last time he saw his father, though he renewed contact with his mother after seven years.

Living alone in New York City after running away, he became known as the "Big Nale", later shortened to just "Big". He decided to exploit his mature appearance and alter his driver's license to make it appear that he was ten years older to get a job. However Abagnale, posing as a high school dropout in his mid-twenties, quickly learned the more education one has, the more one is paid. Desperate to survive, he soon began working as a confidence trickster to earn money.

He has since become the founder of a secure-document corporation based in Washington DC. He lectures regularly worldwide and lives in the Midwest with his wife and three sons. ...more

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Frank W. Abagnale’s books

Average rating: 4.03 · 65,400 ratings · 3,740 reviews · 20 distinct works • Similar authors

	Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale, Stan Redding (with) 4.04 avg rating — 62,159 ratings — published 1980 — 120 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America's #1 Crime 3.78 avg rating — 858 ratings — published 2002 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scam Me If You Can: Simple Strategies to Outsmart Today's Rip-off Artists 3.71 avg rating — 823 ratings — published 2019 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stealing Your Life: The Ultimate Identity Theft Prevention Plan 3.67 avg rating — 293 ratings — published 2007 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Real U Guide to Identity Theft 4.20 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2004	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Check Fraud, Holder in Due Course, Check 21 & Identity Theft, V6: Check Fraud, National Epidemic; Prevention Best Practices; Check Washing; Check 21 & Check Fraud; Primer on Laser Printing; Check Security Features; High Security Checks; Holder in Due (... it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Document Verification and Currency Transactions Manual 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mein Leben auf der Flucht: Die unglaublichen Abenteuer eines Hochstaplers by Frank W. Abagnale, Dominic Kolb (narrator), Stan Redding it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Catch Me If You Can: The True Story Of A Real Fake by Frank Abagnale (2003-01-23) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Catch Me If You Can: The Film and the Filmmakers (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebooks) by Steven Spielberg (2002-12-09) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Frank W. Abagnale (?)

“What bothered me most was their lack of style. I learned early that class is universally admired. Almost any fault, sin or crime is considered more leniently if there's a touch of class involved.”
― Frank W. Abagnale, Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake

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“Former police chief of Houston once said of me: “Frank Abagnale could write a check on toilet paper, drawn on the Confederate States Treasury, sign it ‘U.R. Hooked’ and cash it at any bank in town, using a Hong Kong driver’s license for identification.”
― Frank W. Abagnale, Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake

tags: autobiography, book-to-movie, theft

31 likes

“Two little mice fell into a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned, but the second mouse, he struggled so hard that he eventually churned that cream into butter and he walked out. Amen.”
― Frank William Abagnale

tags: catch-me-if-you-can, frank-william-abagnale, leonardo-dicaprio, steven-spielberg

29 likes

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Frank W. Abagnale’s Followers (288)

Frank W. Abagnale

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Frank W. Abagnale’s books