Catching Up with “Catch Me If You Can’s” Frank Abagnale

Dawn Brolin and Stacy Kildal recently had the opportunity to interview Frank Abagnale for the 1/8/14 episode of RadioFreeQB.com. Abagnale is best known as the author of “Catch Me If You Can,” which was made into a 2002 movie of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Abagnale and Tom Hanks as an FBI agent trying to apprehend him.

In the interview, Abagnale talks to Brolin and Kildal about being proactive in fraud prevention, both for individuals and small businesses, and why he thinks it's a subject especially important to accounting professionals for their clients. He offers some great tips that anyone can use to help avoid becoming a victim of fraud, and explains how easy it is for someone to perpetrate fraud – much easier than 40 years ago, believe it or not! 

The book and movie are based on Abagnale's experiences from ages 16-21 when he was quite a convincing impostor and successfully cashed millions of dollars in forged checks. After getting caught and spending time in prison, he was offered release by the FBI on the  “condition that he would help the federal government, without remuneration, by teaching and assisting federal law enforcement agencies.” He still works with the FBI, as well as major financial institutions and other corporations in the subjects of forgery, embezzlement and secure documents.