Frank Abagnale

The con artist's trick: make the 'yes' feel like their own idea

Jordan Harbinger explains the social-engineering move he used to talk his way into concerts: frame an implicit downside (your name on a failure) so the gatekeeper does the cost-benefit math themselves and lets you through. The same 'speak the jargon, get inside the circle of trust' principle is how Frank Abagnale posed as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer.

“Now, an amateur person will try to explain and force you to do that calculation by explaining it to you and being explicit. If you can get people to think it's their idea and that's how they solve the problem, then that's the security hole, right? And it's kind of like sales, except for you're trying to unsell them on a certain idea and then you get them to push the issue forward.”

Steal thisDon't argue your case; surface the other person's downside and let them talk themselves into your outcome.

It's easier to run a con now than in Frank Abagnale's day

Jordan Harbinger relays that Frank Abagnale (Catch Me If You Can) says fraud is actually easier today than in his era, because people now over-trust machines and digital verification rather than scrutinizing in person.

“He's told us that it's actually easier now for fraud scams, con men, to operate than it was back then, because you'd think, oh, now we have computers, we can verify everything. Back then they didn't have that, the communication took longer. Now though, people trust the machines too much, so you can trick people and you can trick machines.”