# The Art of the Steal: Recognizing Forgeries

Frank Abagnale is one of the world's best known authorities on forgery, embezzlement, and secure documents. His rare blend of knowledge and expertise began more than 40 years ago when he was between the ages of 16 and 21, successfully posing as an airline pilot, an attorney, a college professor, and a pediatrician, in addition to cashing $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in every state and 26 foreign countries. His skill in these activities was depicted in the movie "Catch Me If You Can." After being apprehended by the authorities when he was 21, Mr. Abagnale was paroled upon the condition that he would freely teach and assist US federal government law enforcement agencies in fraud prevention. Mr. Abagnale has now been associated with the FBI for over 30 years, and more than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations, and law enforcement agencies use his fraud prevention programs. Mr. Abagnale's presentation will describe how to detect whether documents have been altered and forged using simple techniques.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2009
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Science
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688208/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021688208?play=1)