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Who is the Cyber-criminal?
In recent days, Nigerian fraudsters have set the Internet or cyber-criminals. Honest proposals business is rejected by potential business partners as soon as it is found that the IP address comes from Nigeria.
In a country where people supposedly happiest on earth, one of the most religious and stinking rich human and natural resources, with the average citizen really working hard every day to make, really in most cases, a life, is a stunning allegation but also understandable. Scam emails or origin of any email that can be easily identified through the Internet protocol (IP). However, it takes two to tango. Rightly or wrongly labeled, Nigerians are like the average earthling - against the whims of the reality of a nanosecond paced world. But how this has become is another matter.
The Nigeria Internet came too late. Still in late, late 90s and early 2000s. Then the small deception was the order of the day as in most countries, especially in the western world. Naples, Italy, New York, USA, London, UK and many other places had to tell stories of con men and all that. Not much more was heard of cybercrime anywhere near the coast in any African country from cyber-activités is practically nonexistent. No one drives a car of your dreams without buying or owning it.
All of the earliest recorded stories of deception or con ship were never in Nigeria or even characters in the drama of Africa, for that matter. According to well-informed chroniclers thus ignominious life, a scam or a confidence game (also known as a bunko, against, flim-flam, Gaffla, Grift, hustle, scam, system, scam or deceive) is an attempt to defraud a person or group to gain their trust. The victim is known as the mark, the trickster is called a confidence man, con man, confidence trickster or con artist, and accomplices are known as "accomplices.
trusted men exploit human traits such as greed and dishonesty, and that have victimized people from all walks of life con artist is a person who intentionally deceive another person, usually for personal financial gain. In recent history have been a number of swindlers who have really stood out for his wealth that accumulated, or how easily deceived people.
Archivists staggered a list of 10 most famous fraudsters of recent history:
1. Frank Abagnale (born 1948)
Franco is an artist Abagnale check with former forger and impostor who, for five years in the 1960s, passed bad checks worth more than $ 2.5 million in 26 countries. Their nefarious acts inspired the film Capturing the recent blockbuster "Me If You Can". He began to carve a niche for himself as fraud a youth when he used his father's card to buy Mobil car parts then sold back to the service station for a lower price. The records do not have that realized that his father was the one who had to pay the bill and when finally faced with fraud, his mother sent for four months at a juvenile correctional facility.
After moving to New York, Frank lived exclusively on income from their activities. One of his most famous tricks was to print their own account number false bank deposit slips so that when customers of the bank deposited the money, really wanted to go to your account. For now, the banks realized what had happened, Frank had $ 40,000 and gone underground.
For nearly two years, Abagnale world-trotting around the world in free for parading himself as a Pan Am pilot was able to abuse the professional courtesy of other airlines to provide free transport services for airline pilots to compete if they had to move to another city in the short term. Once he was captured close to coming out of an airplane, but changed his costume to a doctor and worked as a medical supervisor for 11 months has not been detected. Sometimes, he worked as a lawyer and a teacher.
It was the time captured in France and spent six months in prison there. After he was extradited to Sweden and jailed for six months. After a successful flight while traveling to the States United, which eventually was 12 years in prison. He escaped from prison by posing as an undercover agent of the Bureau of Prisons. He was captured again in New York and returned to prison. After serving only five years of his sentence, U.S. Federal Government offered him his freedom in exchange for helping the government fraud and fraudsters without pay.
He currently runs Abagnale and Associates, a financial consulting firm and fraud is a multi-millionaire.
2. Charles Ponzi [Date of birth: 1882 Died: 1949]
Ponzi, an Italian immigrant to the United States became one of the most famous swindlers in American history. While many people do not know the name of Ponzi, the Ponzi scheme is very well known and continues today on the Internet Make Money Fast schemes. His early years were not fully aware of as he was prone to inventing stories on it. What is known is that he spent a short period of time at the University of Rome, after leaving, he took a ship to Boston, USA, where he with $ 2.50 in his pocket.
His early years in the United States were problematic. He began working in a restaurant but was soon fired for playing tricks with invoices and defrauding customers. His next job was working at a bank in Canada to adapt to Italian immigrants. His knowledge of numbers helped to do very well there. Unfortunately, it appeared that the owner was stealing money from bank savings accounts recently opened to pay interest on accounts cover accrued interest and bad investments. The owner of the bank finally fled to Mexico and left without work Ponzi. After writing a fraudulent check and spending a number of years in prison, Ponzi decided to become rich at any cost.
Once we had settled into life on the outside, he discovered postal reply coupons through a letter he sent from abroad. He realized that he could buy foreign stamps at prices greatly devalued (because of fixing prices after the war) and then sell in the United States for a profit of 400%. This was a form of arbitration and legal. Ponzi began paintings to friends and acquaintances for money - promising a return of 50% or double your money in 90 days. He started his own company, the Securities Exchange Company, to promote the system.
The word of this great investment spread quickly and soon Ponzi was living in a luxurious mansion. He brought in cash at a fantastic rate, but the simplest financial analysis showed that it was making money, it was rapidly losing. For each dollar that took it, was deeply in debt. While the money kept flowing in, Ponzi would stay ahead of a possible collapse.
The people soon became suspicious and the press began to publish negative articles about him. Inevitably, people were beginning to demand their money. Shortly thereafter, Federal agents raided his office and shut it down. No stamp stock was found and all those who had invested their money in Ponzi lost every cent. It is likely that they lost tens of millions of dollars. Ponzi was convicted of mail fraud and was sent to prison. After a leak that was returned to jail to complete his sentence. He was deported back to Italy where he died in poverty in 1949.
3. Joseph Weil [Date of birth: 1877 Died: 1975]
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Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil was one of the most famous swindlers his time. Throughout his career, is believed to have stolen more than $ 8 million. In his first job as a collector, he realized that his coworkers were collecting its debts, but keeping a little of the money for themselves. Weil started a protection racket - offering not to publicize their activities in exchange for a small part of what they were taking.
He also used false offers of oil, women, fixed races, and an endless list of other tricks rob a credulous public increasingly. He could change your people every day to promote its benefits: one day was Dr. Henri Reuel, a geologist noted that traveled around and told his hosts that he was representative of a large oil company, while they removed the money he gave to "invest in fuel. "Next day, he was director of the Elysium Development Company, with the promise of land to innocent believers while robbing them in the register and abstract fees. Or was a chemist par excellence who had discovered how to copy dollar bills; the promise of increasing his fortune, he would multiply your bill then take the booty once the police arrived.
In his autobiography, Weil writes,
"The desire to get something for nothing has been too expensive for many people who have dealt with me and against other men, "Weil writes." But I discovered that this is how it works. The person average, in my opinion, is ninety-nine percent of the animals and one percent human. Ninety-nine percent which is the animal causes very few problems. However, a percent human is all our ills. When people learn - as I doubt that - they can not get something for nothing, crime will decrease and we will live in greater harmony. "
4. (Count) VÃctor Alegre [Date of birth: 1890 Died: 1947]
Victor Lustig was recognized as the man who sold Eiffel Tower. Born in Bohemia, but later moved to Paris, where he was able to with people on his frequent trips between Paris and New York. With her first show people a device that could print $ 100 bills. The only problem, he said, is that only prints a bill every six hours. Many people will paid huge amounts of money (usually over $ 30,000) for the device. In fact, the device contains two hidden real bills $ 100 - once spat by the machine to produce only blank paper. By the time the buyers discovered this, Alegre was well gone with your money.
In 1925, as France was recovering from the war, the maintenance of the Eiffel Tower was almost unbearable expense for the city of Paris. When Alegre read about it on paper, came up with the brilliant idea. After forging government credentials, invited six scrap metal dealers to a secret meeting in a hotel. He explained that the city could not afford afford to keep the tower and had to sell it as scrap. He told them the secret of the meeting and all future treatment was due to the fact that the public can become in distress at the prospect of the withdrawal of the tower.
Although it seems unlikely, while the tower was built it was meant to be temporary and only passed this 18 years after the original date for the removal of the tower. Alegre dealers took a limousine to visit the tower. One of the distributors, André Poisson was convinced that the story was a legitimate and gave the money. When he realized he had been cheated, he was too embarrassed to tell the police and Lustig escaped with the money. A month later, he returned to Paris to treat the whole scam again. This time he informed the police but escaped Alegre.
At one point, Lustig convinced Al Capone to invest $ 50,000 to him. He put the money in the vault and returned two months later, indicating that the operation had failed. Capone, so impressed by the honesty Lustig gave him $ 5,000 for his efforts. In 1934, Alegre was convicted of counterfeiting. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in Alcatraz. In 1947 he died of pneumonia while in jail in Springfield, Missouri.
5. George Parker [Date of Birth: 1870 Died: 1936]
Parker was one of the most audacious con men in American history. He made his living selling public places in New York to unsuspecting tourists. His favorite subject was selling the Brooklyn Bridge, which sold twice a week for years. He convinced his marks could make a fortune through control access to the road. More than once the police had to remove from unsuspecting buyers try to lift bridge toll booths.
Other places public interest including the original sold Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant's Tomb and the Statue of Liberty. George there are many methods different for sales. When he sold Grant's Tomb, often posing as a grandson of the general. Even a false set "office" to handle their scams real estate. He produced impressive forged documents to prove that he was the legal owner of any property he was selling.
Parker was declared guilty of fraud on three occasions. After his third conviction of 17 December 1928 was sentenced to life imprisonment in Sing Sing prison. He spent the last eight years of his life behind bars. He was popular among the guards and other inmates who enjoyed hearing of their exploits. George is remembered as one of the most successful fraudsters in United States history and one of history's most talented forgers. His exploits have passed into popular culture, giving rise to phrases like "And if you believe that I have a bridge to sell," a popular way of expressing a belief that someone is naive.
6. Soapy Smith [Date of birth: 1860; Died: 1898]
Soapy Smith (born in Jefferson Randolph Smith) was a con artist and gangster American who had a major hand in the operations of organized crime in Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska from 1879 to 1898. He is perhaps the most famous "safe" " bunko man of the Old West. Sometime in late 1870 or early 1880, Smith began to deceive multitudes whole with a regular tactic of Denver nicknamed Prize Package Soap Sell Swindle.
Jefferson opened the "corns and Keister (display on a tripod) on a busy street corner. Piling ordinary cake of soap in the upper Keister, he describe its wonders. Speaking to the gathering crowd of onlookers, he would retire portfolio and start wrapping paper money ranging from a dollar to a hundred dollars on a select group of bars. Then each bar ended in plain paper wrapping around to hide the money. Mixed wrapped packages of money wrapped bars that has been money. He then sold the soap to the crowd for a dollar a cake.
A fraudulent planted in the crowd was going to buy a bar, tear open, and loudly proclaim that he had won some money, waving around for all to see. This action had the desired effect of attracting the sale of packages. Often, victims bought several bars before the sale was completed. Halfway through the sale, Smith would announce that the hundred-dollar bill still on the mound, unpurchased. Then the rest will be auctioned of soap to the highest bidders.
Through the masterful art of manipulation and sleight of hand, the bars of soap wrapped in hiding money and replaced with the packages of non-cash holding. He said the only money "earned" went to the members of what became known as the band from "Soap." Soapy was finally shot dead by a group that defrauded in a game of cards.
7. Eduardo de Valfierno
Eduardo de Valfierno who referred to himself as Marquis (Marquis), was an Argentine con man who allegedly masterminded the theft of the Mona Lisa. Valfierno paid several men to steal the artwork from the Louvre, including museum staff Vincenzo Perugia. On August 21, 1911 Perugia hid the Mona Lisa under his coat and it just came through the door.
Before the robbery took place, Valfierno commissioned French art restorer and forger Yves Chaudron to make six copies of the Mona Lisa. Fakes were sent to different parts of the world, preparing for them lining up buyers. Valfierno knew once the Mona Lisa was stolen to be more difficult to smuggle copies customs of the past. After the robbery the copies were delivered to their buyers, each thinking that was the original, which had just been robbed by them. Due Valfierno just wanted to sell fakes, just needed the original Mona Lisa to disappear and never contacted again after the crime Perugia. Finally, Perugia was captured trying to sell the painting and returned he went to the Louvre in 1913.
8. James Hogue [Born: 1959]
Hogue is a U.S. impostor most famous entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan. In 1986, Hogue enrolled in a High School in Palo Alto as Jay Mitchell Huntsman, an orphan of 16 years, from Nevada. He adopted the identity of a dead child. A local reporter exposed him suspicious. In 1988, Hogue enrolled at Princeton University with Indris alias Alexi Santana, a self-taught orphan from Utah. The deferred income for a year because he had been convicted of theft of bicycle frames in Utah. Hogue claimed in your application materials that he had stayed out in the Grand Canyon, raising sheep and reading of the philosophers. He violated his probation entering class. For the next two years he lived as Santana and a member of track team. He also was admitted to the Ivy Club.
In true 1991 Hogue identity became apparent when Renee Pacheco, a student at the High School Palo Alto, recognized him. He was arrested for defrauding the university for $ 30,000 financial aid and sentenced to three years 'imprisonment with five years' probation and 100 hours of community service.
On May 16, 1993 Hogue was again news for his association with Harvard University. Having lied about his identity once again, was able to take a job as a security guard in one of Harvard museums on campus. A few months in office, museum officials realized that several gems on display had been replaced by cheap fakes. Hogue took Somerville police at his home and charged him with grand larceny in the amount of $ 50,000.
On March 12, 2007 Hogue pleaded guilty a single felony count of theft over $ 15,000 in return for a term of imprisonment not exceeding 10 years, and agreement of the prosecutors to drop other theft and habitual criminal charges.
9. Robert Hendy-Freegard [Born: 1971]
Robert Hendy-Freegard is a British barman, car salesman, con man and a impostor who posed as MI5 agent and fooled several people into hiding for fear of IRA assassination. He met his victims on social occasions or as customers in the bar car dealership where he worked. It would reveal his "role" as a secret agent of MI5, Special Branch of Scotland Yard or work against the IRA. He would win them more, borrow money and to do his bidding. He demanded that they cut off contact with family and friends, go through "Loyalty tests" and living alone in poor condition. Five women seduced, saying he wanted to marry them. Initially some of the victims refused to cooperate with the police because he had warned that police would be double agents, or MI5 agents carrying out another test of loyalty. "
Hendy-Freegard also seduced a newlywed personal assistant to care for their children. He said he was with MI5 and forced her to sever contact with friends and family do not whether the IRA would kill her. He also took nude photos of her and threatened to give her husband if she did not cooperate. She had to change his name and tell the officer writing sided was because she was sexually abused as a child. Their loyalty tests including sleeping in Heathrow airport and park benches for several nights and pretending be a Jehovah's Witness to his bosses at MI5 would allow them to marry.
In 2002, Scotland Yard and the FBI organized a sting operation. First, the FBI tapping the phone of the fathers of American psychologist. His mother told Hendy-Freegard handed £ 10,000, but only in person. Hendy-Freegard met the mother at Heathrow airport, where police apprehended him. He denied all charges and claimed they were part of a conspiracy against him and continued this history in the subsequent trial. On June 23, 2005, after an eight-month trial, Blackfriars Crown Court convicted Robert Hendy-Freegard of two counts of kidnapping, theft 10 and eight of deception. On September 6, 2005 was given a life sentence. The police certainly have found all the victims. On April 25, 2007, the BBC reported that Robert Hendy-Freegard had appealed his kidnapping conviction and won. This means that the life sentence be overturned but he still will be nine years for other crimes. He could be free in late 2007.
10. Bernard Cornfeld [Date of birth: 1927 Died: 1995]
Bernard Cornfeld was a prominent businessman and international financial investments sold in U.S. mutual funds. Born in Turkey. When he moved to the U.S. for the first time worked as a social worker but became a mutual fund salesman in the 1950s. Despite suffering from a stutter, who had a natural gift for sale, and when the parent of a school friend died, the two used the $ 3,000 insurance money to buy and implement an age and weight guessing booth at the fairground in Coney Island.
In the 1960s, Cornfeld formed his own company selling mutual fund, foreign investors Services (IOS), which incorporated outside the U.S. with funds in Canada and headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Although offcially headquarters in Geneva, the main operational offices of the IOS were in Ferney-Voltaire, France, within walking distance of the Geneva-Swiss border that was simply a means to avoid the difficulties of obtaining Swiss work permits for many employees. During the next ten years, raised more than IOS $ 2,500,000,000, which Cornfeld a personal fortune of more than $ 100 million. Cornfeld himself became known for conspicuous consumption with sumptuous feasts. Socially, was generous and jovial.
A group of 300 employees IOS complained to the Swiss authorities pockets Cornfeld and his co-founders of the profits of a share issue raised by workers in 1969. As a result he was accused of fraud in 1973 by the Swiss authorities. When Cornfeld visited Geneva, the Swiss authorities arrested him. He served 11 months in a Swiss jail before being released on bail of $ 600,000 bail. He returned to Beverly Hills, who live less ostentatious than in their earlier years. He developed an obsession for health foods and vitamins, gave up red meat and rarely drank alcohol. He suffered a stroke brain and died of a brain aneurysm on February 27, 1995 in London, England.
The grandfather of all con men of history is Bernard Madoff, mastermind the biggest scam investment. This report from Reuters is about his trial and conviction:
"Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday to 150 years in prison - The maximum penalty, the judge may give the "extraordinarily bad" crimes on Wall Street, greater investment and more blatant fraud. "
Va:
"Investors Fleeced in the room applauded and cheered when the judge issued the sentence.
Madoff, 71, was passively with hands clasped at the waist, showing no reaction when he heard the sentence that will be sent to prison for the rest of his life.
The first non-executive chairman Nasdaq stock market, has been imprisoned in a cell in Manhattan since pleaded guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury in March.
"Here the message should be sent to Mr. Madoff crimes were extraordinarily bad," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin reasons for rejecting the defense of a lenient sentence of 12 years. "abuse of trust was massive.
"I just do not get the impression that Mr. Madoff has done all it could or that everything he knows.
The money manager of gray hair was dressed in his signature dark gray suit, white shirt and tie rather a prison uniform.
The disgraced financier sat passively at all time and the middle ear as his victims called him a "beast" an "animal" and a criminal "."
He apologized to them at a turning point to the 250 people in the courtroom.
"I will live with this pain, torment, for the rest of my life," he said quietly. "I live in a tormented state knowing the pain and suffering they have created. "
Madoff, who has been accused of defrauding investors around the world outside as much as $ 65 billion, said: "In my business, when you make a trading error, you are expected to trade a mistake is accepted. My mistake was much more serious. I made a misjudgment. "
CAUGHT BY THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
December Madoff arrest came as investors were feeling the brunt of the worst financial crisis since the Depression of 1930 Great.
The case has sparked widespread criticism of the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission, which has been accused of lacking red flags that could have brought the curtain its asset management business.
No one knew where Madoff will serve his sentence in what prosecutors described as fraud in the world of small and wealthy investors, charities and financial institutions.
The court heard statements Chin heartbreaking Madoff nine victims, some of whom said they had lost their life savings, were forced to sell their homes, or had to seek government help to buy food.
"Only I hope his sentence is long enough for his jail cell will become your coffin, "said Michael Schwartz, 33, who said his family had been robbed of savings for the care of his mentally disabled brother.
The White House said the judge had sent a signal strong people who handle other people's money.
My guess is that that message is heard loud and clear ", said the spokesman for President Barack Obama Robert Gibbs.
Madoff was arrested in December after two children told authorities that he had confessed to his investment empire was a fraud.
Prosecutors have said Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities was 65 billion U.S. dollars in client accounts weeks before his arrest, but the settlement agent the company has so far only been able to raise $ 1.2 billion to repay investors.
As much as 170 billion U.S. dollars flowed through the Madoff principle of mind in recent decades. Madoff symbolically ordered to pay that amount as compensation.
While a much lower sentence Madoff would have sent him to prison for life, Chin said he deserved the maximum, usually imposed on the organized crime bosses.
"Fraud here was amazing, "said the judge.
A law professor said he was surprised by the sentence, but surely serve as a deterrent.
"I love to think that the mini-Madoffs out there might think that what happened today has something to do with them, but I suspect that most of them," Jayne said Barnard College of William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia.
Madoff lawyer said no decision had been made on whether to appeal sentencing.
None of the Madoff family came to court. They have not attended any of his appearances before the court earlier.
The judge said no had received a single letter on behalf of Madoff, testimony of any good deed or charity. 'The absence of such support is saying,' Chin said.
Madoff wife Ruth, 68, has not been charged with any crime, but has been vilified by investors disappointed, rejected by friends and persecuted by the media communication. Breaking his long silence, said in a statement Monday that he had been "betrayed and confused" by her husband's cheating.
"Since when I learned from my husband who had committed a huge fraud, I had two thoughts - first, that so many people who trusted he would be ruined financially and emotionally, and, secondly, that my life with the man I have known for more than 50 years was over, "he said.
Madoff said that he acted alone. The only other person charged criminally is your external accountant.
Madoff brother, Peter, and his sons, Mark and Andrew, were executives in the brokerage unit of your company. They said they had no knowledge or on the crooked asset management.
Madoff and his wife have agreed to sell three properties luxury and other goods and valuables. Revenues from sales of assets will be distributed to defrauded investors.
Ruth Madoff will be left with $ 2.5 million claim after losing about $ 80 billion in assets, including the couple's apartment in Manhattan penthouse.
Madoff said investors in the courtroom that he could offer no excuse, saying he tried to undo their crimes, but "the harder I tried, the deeper I dug a hole for me."
Investors said the apology left cold.
"There is something very pathological. He is still making excuses for himself same, "said George Nierenberg, 57.
(Reporting by Grant McCool, Martha Graybow, Daniel Trotta, Mike Erman and Christine Kearney, editing by John Wallace, Toni Reinhold) "
Things scam on our collective nerves as sincere business proposals do not get a look in most foreign prospects once the IP address displays Nigeria: But one fact remains - the victims of scams are greedy or gullible and fall proportionally February 4 as criminal regimes. The victim wanted or not by the acceptance of proposals to get rich quick, commits the crime as an unlikely (?) Complications.
By Wikipedia, "The earliest known use of the term man of confidence" in English was in 1849 and was used by the U.S. press during the trial of United States William Thompson. Thompson spoke with strangers until he asked if they had the confidence to lend him their watches, then he left on foot with the clock, which was captured when the victim recognized him on the street. "
The respected online encyclopedia, further explains: "Confidence tricks exploit typical human qualities such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, honesty, compassion, credulity and naivete. The common factor is that the brand is based on good faith of the fraudster. Just as there is no typical profile for swindlers, neither is there one for their victims. Almost anyone can fall prey to fraudulent crimes.
Indeed, victims of investment fraud high yield can have a level of greed which exceeds their care as well as a willingness to believe what they want to believe. However, not all fraud victims are greedy, risk-taking, self-deception people looking to make money fast. Nor are all victims guilty of fraud, uneducated, or elderly. A brand of selfish or dishonest may try to out-cheat the con man, only to discover that he or she has been manipulated into losing from the beginning. This is a general principle in confidence tricks that there is a saying among con men that "you can not cheat an honest man."
The con artist often works with one or more accomplices called hooks, to help manipulate the mark into accepting the plan of man cons. In a traditional fraud, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to earn money or other reward for doing a task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from completion mission in the past.
Wikipedia also includes its own record of world-renowned artists, some of them were mentioned in the preceding paragraphs above, and obviously none of them were from Nigeria or even Africa, for the case:
Notable con artists
Born in the 18th century
Gregor MacGregor (1786-1845) - Scottish con artist who tried to attract investment and settlers for a country Poyais nonexistent.
Born or active in the nineteenth and centure
Blong Lou (1849-1924) - Organized massive ring of con men in Denver in 1900.
Helga the Brache (1817-1885)
Horace de Vere Cole (1881-1936)
Canada Bill Jones - and a strong boat gamer card
Victor Lustig (1890-1947) - Born in Bohemia (now Czech Republic) and known as "the man who sold the Eiffel Tower."
George C. Parker (1870-1936) - With the man who sold U.S. New York monuments to tourists.
Charles Ponzi (1882-1949) - "Ponzi scheme" is a "rich" fast "fraud named after him.
Death Valley Scotty (1872-1954) prospector, performer, and con artist, famous for scams gold mining and the mansion in Death Valley known as Scotty's Castle.
Smith Soapy (1860-1898) - Trust the leader of the gang, which operated in Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska
William Thompson (active 1840-1849) - U.S. Criminal whose deceptions caused the term confidence man who coined.
Joseph Weil (1875-1976) - one of the men America's famous hit of its time.
Cassie Chadwick (1857-1907) - U.S. defrauded several banks from asserting billion be an illegitimate daughter and heiress of Andrew Carnegie.
Born or active in the 20th century
Bernie Cornfeld (1927-1995) - Led the service of foreign investors, accused of being a Ponzi scheme.
Richard Eaton (1937-1979) - Con, salon owner and general manager of the dress factory Moo Moo Vedda and an associate of the Lucchese crime family.
David Hampton (1964-2003) - Inspiration for the work and the film Six Degrees of Separation
Konrad Kujau (1938-2000) - German forger called Hitler Diaries.
Eduardo de Valfierno - n Argentine commemorative allegedly masterminded the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911.
Life people
Frank Abagnale (1948) - USA check forger and impostor; his autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, was carried the movies.
Peter Foster (1962) - Australian con man with convictions and prison sentences of three continents for fraud and money laundering, known by fraud Bai Lin tea slimming and participation in property transactions with Cherie Blair.
Gerhartsreiter Karl Christian (1961) - born Bavarian con artist who, for nearly two decades, said a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family.
Robert Hendy-Freegard (1971) - Briton who kidnapped people by posing as an MI5 agent and conned them money.
James Arthur Hogue (1959) - USA impostor who most famously entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan.
Clifford Irving (1930) - writer U.S., better known as a false "authorized autobiography" of Howard Hughes.
Samuel Israel III (1959) - Ran the former hedge fund Bayou Group fraud, faked suicide.
Bon Levi (1943) - Ron and Ronald Frederick With Aka. Arguably Australia's known fraudster he deceived the majority of Australians and U.S. citizens to invest in franchise businesses scam. He has been jailed in Australia and United States.
Bernard Madoff, Lawrence (1938) - the former president of Nasdaq stock market who admitted running a record global $ 65,000,000,000 Ponzi scheme. Under the direction of Bernard L. hedge fund Madoff Investment Securities LLC, until his arrest in 2008. In March 2009 eleven pleaded guilty to federal crimes.
Matt the Knife (1981) - born in American credit card cheat and thief who conned corporations, casinos, and at least one crime family the mafia.
Barry Minkow (1967) - American entrepreneur. His company, ZZZZ Best, investors an estimated $ 100 million before he spent seven years in prison for fraud and other crimes.
Semion Mogilevich (1946) - is a billionaire crime boss and a global artist believed by European and U.S. federal enforcement agencies of law to be the "boss of bosses" of most unions in the Russian mafia in the world.
Lou Pearlman (1954) - USA employer and director of boy bands, sentenced to 25 years to operate a Ponzi scheme investment.
Casey Serin (1982) - Mortgage confessed swindler who became the poster child "of the housing bubble.
Solomon Dwek (c.1973)-Syrian Orthodox Jewish rabbi and investor Deal real estate, New Jersey pleaded guilty to bank fraud involving 50 million U.S. dollars PNC Bank.
Michael Sabo (1945) Best known for its history as a check forger stocks and bonds. He became famous in the 1960s and throughout the 1990s as a "great impostor" and was featured on national television, more than 100 aliases, and made millions of people.
With the above, be reasonable to stigmatize Nigerians for criminal enculturation western world in nearly almost every aspect of contemporary life. Western films in Nigeria and Africa will house all kind of immorality hitherto alien to them. People use three-piece suits and long hot scammers recently has begun to use religion to update swindling their thought processes. Well, no surprise to your server as Jesus already warned us two millennia ago that "In recent days, many will come to deceive many in my name. "We are now seeing the many, and most of them are Nigerians. But why treat them with such ignominy?
As noted above, the Internet and mobile technology came to these shores in recent years 90. Before that, Western deceivers continue deceive people through various systems and were not so vilified as Nigerians. They hacked the computer systems with viruses and other undesirable things done against humanity. 95% of Nigerians have no access to Internet, but we talk about Internet fraud schemes amazing is attributed to the Nigerians.
Many of those e-mails are also sent to most of us (Nigerians), but ignore them without blinking.
For example, you get a scam email saying just won the contest and bla bla bla. You knew that did not play any games or deceive. That is greed and trying to reap what you sow no. Or someone send an email saying that someone died and left the money in a fictitious bank account and needs your help to get it out on yours. I would not buy this idea of half a cent because I'm not greedy. In my little research I realized that these systems are actually inherited from the Western world scam. Its just like syndrome back to the sender. Moreover, we hear these days Madoffs of this world whose only surpassed booty booty call full of scammers from Nigeria. 0.001% of Nigerians unlike Most of the western world are actually involved in it in any way. Its ability to send spam to millions with the push of the button causes the Nigerian half a cheat as much as singular act Omar Faruk Abdulmutallab action is on Christmas Day 2009 did not make all Nigerians terrorists or suicide bombers.
The real average Nigeria is working and strives daily to earn a living. The world thinks that in many cases of people and places I've never been a representation of the they get from their news sources.
My advice to the con-phobic is simple: Never try to enter a building through the windows when the door is completely open. Greed and selfishness is a sine-qua-non for being a scam victim.
My case for now.
PS
This testimony about the true Nigeria was inboxes to me by a Caucasian American, one of my friends in Facebook:
March 15 at 14:54
Hello Henry - Thanks for telling me about Fan page. Yes, I know and understand that - it's a shame that some have not met the Nigerian and have bad / assumtions ignorant about them. There are con artists and scammers from all sides, and have to pray for the Lord's protection of people so badly. I have used and deceived by people in real life person, including recently here in Montana, and none of them ever Nigerians.
I lived in southern California and my son had a medical emergency. To pay for it I had to refinance my mom's house just as she had just let me die. I called every mortgage company I could find. I lived in Orange County (I hated that there did not originate in the not-unpleasant people) and called the companies in Los Angeles and Ventura counties as well. All companies I could find. I just declare bankruptcy.
Finally, I reached a company in Thousand Oaks, CA. All had a British accent. They were the only company of thousands of people who help me. To help they had to trust me. They were also Christians. I shared with them the condition of my son, and that the Services Children's threatened to take my children away because I could not find a doctor who knew how to work with him - that he had / has a rare condition (and is how we ended up in Montana).
They refiananced my house. I had to pay $ 6,000 to a lawyer just to keep my child home. It was ridiculous Henry as his problem was with the knee and his main complaint was that he was overweight. It was not life threatening in anyway and I had been to 10 different doctors and had the test!
Then they refinanced again! They said that it would be easier with my bankruptcy, and already having a loan on it, would have to find a private party. I begged them and told them my case and what was happening with my son. He shared with me that they were Christians too.
Everyone in the office was very kind to me. All said they were praying for me and my children.
Finally sold the house as the only surgeon I could find who knew how to work on my son was here in Montana.
Upon leaving California, I stopped by his office. I wanted to thank you personally for all he had done for us. His confidence and kindness kept family together. They were also very fair with their prices and trade.
I stopped and went in and was so surprised that they were all Africa, Nigeria. They had been educated in England. And the wife of the owner to this day remains the most beautiful African woman that I've seen in my life. Tradtitional Nigeria wore clothes.
Henry, these people were my angels on this earth. My parents were passed on from cancer, my brother was a drug addict (Which is clean now and has found the Lord, glory to God), my husband ran to be a hobo on a train (true story) and his family, who were rich, no matter whether my children were alive or dead.
These Nigerians saved my family - my children - the most valuable thing on the face of this earth to me. Never, never, never forget what they did for me and my children. I am so grateful to God for them.
Also, I have met wonderful people here in Nigeria facebook.
Thanks for listening this story. God bless!
Sincerely,
(Name withheld)
About the Author
Born on November 24 1965 in Lagos, Nigeria. Graduated with a B.Sc (Honours) degree in Psychology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1991. Has had stints in management and construction. Currently involved in Oil and Gas Consultancy
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