Life as a Con Man: "Catch Me If You Can" Frank Abagnale Interview, Part 1

In a rare interview with America's first social engineer, we sat down with Frank Abagnale of "Catch Me If You Can" fame, where he shared incredible stories from his past, reflected on turning his life around, and mused on the present and future of cyber crime.
Frank Abagnale is a former con-artist turned 40+ year FBI consultant, as well as spokesperson for ThreatAdvice cybersecurity solutions.
Full interview transcript: www.threatadvice.com/blog/pos...
Learn more about ThreatAdvice: www.threatadvice.com/

[@gladigatorrawr1480]

What year is it? 2002? Why are y'all platforming this guy?

[@thewkovacs316]

he memorized the life story he created and repeated it over and over cops know when someone is lying when they are able to repeat a story using the exact same words every time that is what frank does

[@seanmadison6360]

Holy crap this guy is a robot. He repeats the same words no matter what he is asked. I saw two different speeches he gave and they word the same words the whole way through! He just repeats a mantra over and over.

[@Jay-vr9ir]

Everything he claims is all false .Alan C Logan investigated Frank and Frank never did anything he claims.

[@TheDragonsRose]

Eventually you find the best way to repeat yourself after the 5000th time......

[@jonjon4658]

he probably had to do so many interviews that he remembered his answers plus people probably always ask him the same questions all the time

[@pixeltech1954]

Not only that, but you can spot he is lying also on the details of his stories. Like 5th avenue… all his life revolves around 5th avenue no matter what city he‘s in.

[@rosepahl8663]

Thanx4post

[@iamleilaniquevedo4658]

Thank you for my avatar and for sharing many interesting movies.

[@peternagy-im4be]

His biggest con was embellishing half truths and actual lies and making a career from it. He didn't actually do most of what he claims. But he did well out of it.

[@lochnessmonster5149]

He filed for bankruptcy several years ago...

[@Plumbing.repairs]

Let me guess, you heard this on the internet that it was lies and so you believe it?

[@Asht-mj4wy]

@@Plumbing.repairs heard it from his many victims. Plus official public records which can’t be argued with

[@busterbiloxi3833]

He never worked as a doctor.

[@Plumbing.repairs]

@@busterbiloxi3833 correct. He was a pediatrician

[@snyez]

It has been pretty much proven and universal knowledge much of what he says is complete bluff.i

[@peternagy-im4be]

That's the biggest con of the lot. He was essentially a small time thief who wore a uniform occasionally and forged a few cheques .

[@rickhadley7635]

He passed the bar exam

[@kshepard52]

@@rickhadley7635 Nope

[@busterbiloxi3833]

He did not. Look up the Louisiana Bar. He's not listed. Never was. And not under an assumed name. @@rickhadley7635

[@HappyCat-142]

he lied about his lies

[@JOXCY]

And is now lying about lying about his lies

[@HappyCat-142]

@@JOXCY 👍🏻😀

[@seemsxlegit8039]

How is he still doing interviews after that book pretty much showed its ALL a lie? Like everything hes saying is a lie.

[@Plumbing.repairs]

Because it's not a lie, the book you read was the lie.

[@Asht-mj4wy]

@@Plumbing.repairs have you read the book?. No of course you haven’t

[@Plumbing.repairs]

@@Asht-mj4wy don't need to read it to know it's a book of opinions and not facts.

[@Asht-mj4wy]

@@Plumbing.repairs​​The book was mostly filled with public records which aren’t opinions , they’re facts which can’t be disputed. The best example being- Abagnale was housed in Great Meadow Prison in Comstock, New York, between the ages of 17 and 20 as inmate number -25367. Therefore it’s literally impossible to have done nearly everything he claims because he was incarcerated. How do you explain that one Sir?

[@Plumbing.repairs]

@@Asht-mj4wy the time frame was inaccurate in the movie

[@vionamunjeri1386]

Shocking 😮

[@Asht-mj4wy]

Why has this been uploaded . The whole story is complete BS, movie has nothing to do with his life. What a waste of time . Abagnale just makes everything up

[@Adhil_parammel]

Even better

[@Asht-mj4wy]

@@Adhil_parammel How’s that better?. Videos like this continue to perpetuate a myth and are offensive to his many victims. He was never a doctor, lawyer or professor. Simply an unsuccessful white collar criminal who financially devastated small businesses and families, none of whom he’s ever apologised or paid back. That’s not to mention he also sexually assaulted some female college students then bragged about it in various speeches

[@Adhil_parammel]

Because thats great con than film.

[@Asht-mj4wy]

@@Adhil_parammel that makes no sense

[@TheDragonsRose]

Prove it :)

[@JewishKeto]

Scary how easy it is to defraud people now a days

[@YoureNowOnTV]

Left channel audio only?

[@danielbaer8924]

Please read the Wikipedia page on this guy before believing anything he says.

[@Asht-mj4wy]

Pretty embarrassing that this organisation has put the video up. His life story was debunked years ago. Sad that a man in his mid seventies is still lying about it

[@irishsox1]

The book “The Greatest Hoax On Earth” debunks everything this guy did. He was never a fake Dr, never a fake attorney & definitely did not pass $2 million dollars worth of bad checks.

[@kazuhirala]

So he’s still technically conning?

[@Asht-mj4wy]

@@kazuhirala unfortunately so. Quite unpleasant for all of his victims to constantly have to relive this though .

[@peternagy-im4be]

​@@Asht-mj4wy thats his life his means of existence.

[@billmc62]

Imagine as a kid that you tied a towel around your neck and made something resembling a cape. Then you successfully jumped off your garage and landed safely on the ground. Then you told your parents and friends that you were able to successfully fly around the world with this cape and fight crime and successfully share millions of dollars with the poor. Your parents informed the media about this and it was broadcast all around the world. Later a book was written about you, then a movie. You were even interviewed and had it posted on ThreatAdvice. The biggest con of all though is that this guy is nothing more than a petty thief who was able to continually con people with his BS for decades. He's still telling people that his bath towel allows him to fly and fight crime all around the world. FYI...there are new books and plenty of articles exposing this man as the ultimate con and liar. His family must be proud.

[@Agka07_036]

"Ive seen ur movie an done no actual research on you" dude should be ashamed of himself for giving this guy any publicity

[@aalfonso1981]

For some reason, the thumbnail made me think it was Woody Hareleson and Chevy Chase!

[@sandykoufax1568]

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥what i don't understand is How did people not know that it did not appear in the system? I say if I pretend to be a pilot I imagine they will see in the system if I am registered etc. the same for example an identification a curp etc.🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

[@Asht-mj4wy]

He was pretending to be a co pilot 50 years ago. At that point there was almost no security in airports and the cockpits weren’t locked

[@sandykoufax1568]

@@Asht-mj4wy Thank you!! That was my doubt because I wondered and his name and Deotras data and fingerprint evidence etc because it did not appear in system and All that Thank you

[@peternagy-im4be]

​@@Asht-mj4wy i think he dead headed a few trips but not anywhere near the number he claims.

[@Plumbing.repairs]

He never used his real name, so he's not going to be in any records.

[@user-cu6bz4rn1r]

So many many con artists out there then and now and this guy's character is off balance with human emotions issues the way I would describe it

[@underthetornado]

I had samonella from tainted lettuce. I can't beleive how sick I was!!!😢 it was scary sick. When you've got something you have no control over!

[@PankajDoharey]

Look At the pride on this guy. 🤣

[@musings2022]

Still conning people I see....

[@Adhil_parammel]

Even better

[@peternagy-im4be]

He made a good career of making stuff up.

[@Cookefan59]

He’s sitting there still doing what he do. He’s a sociopath. Plain and simple. He’s a very successful sociopath.

[@FirstnameLastname-pz7vm]

95% of Abagnale's Catch Me If You Can exploits are provably false. He's made his living telling a lie- that's the con! (Check the book by Alan Logan, Pretend podcast series, or NY Post story among many others).

[@saywhat303]

At this point he would even pass a polygraph, because he's been telling the lies that much, he no doubt believes them to be the truth. He's a scumbag and personally, I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth.

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

Yeah when I found out about the truth behind his back story a part of me was disappointed in a part of me really wasn’t surprised. The only thing I believe is him impersonating a pilot and escaping jail pretty much everything else is a lie. And the problem is that he’s trying to present all of this as if it’s factual information. If in his book he put a disclaimer and said that some of the information is over exaggerated or not entirely accurate and that would’ve been fine. At least Jordan Belfort was actually honest enough to admit when things were false or over exaggerated. And a lot of the details and his memoir were correct.

[@Plumbing.repairs]

He's not a scum bag. Show him some respect!

[@saywhat303]

@@Plumbing.repairs lol Don't hold your breath waiting for that....and yeah, he is.

[@imvandenh]

​@@Plumbing.repairsyou are just the ultimate fan boy, aren't you? In every comment thread on every video, unable to accept the fact that all available evidence points to Frank being a bald faced liar about almost all of his wild story. There is no evidence to back his claims but plenty of evidence that debunks them. Do you think that Santa delivers presents to the whole world in one night as well? I'll leave you to your delusion now. Believe what you want, can't say you haven't been told

[@porcupinecraig]

@@Plumbing.repairs He deserves nothing but complete scorn from everyone. He is the absolute definition of a scumbag. What he did to the stewardess's family is so awful. Same with the kids camp. Read his wiki. He's a complete jerk and belongs in jail.

[@rickhadley7635]

Regardless, the guy passed the bar exam. A fkn genius

[@Asht-mj4wy]

He didn’t. Was debunked years ago, he just made it up. Much like nearly everything else he claims

[@Plumbing.repairs]

​@@Asht-mj4wy no he wasn't

[@busterbiloxi3833]

There is no record of his passing any bar exam.

[@Plumbing.repairs]

@@busterbiloxi3833 you think he used his actual name when he took the test lol

[@porcupinecraig]

@@Plumbing.repairs The Louisna bar has stated many time that they know exactly who has taken the bar and who passesd it and they can verify each person and where they are today. There is no way that Frank did it under any name. Also, Frank is wrong about the bar. They did not let anyone take it who was not a law school grad and nobody could just take it over and over. Get over your fandom. Frank is nothing but a complete liar and you fell for his lies and still do.

[@keithkellogg5325]

He ripped his own family off

[@pp-1954]

A con man conning his life, conning about the conning he had done! Catch me if you can was a great movie nevertheless

[@porcupinecraig]

It's a great movie, except it pretends to be based on a true story. It should be listed as complete fiction, because that is what it is.

[@DV80s]

Why would anyone believe a con-artist?

[@user-vb3qv2do8n]

He’s a glorified bank thief. If he stole your Grandfathers savings would you still worship him? What about the theives he’s catching are they in jail or living the high life as him? So many ppl get away with crime. He laughs the whole way thru this. Narc at his finest. Chameleon is a narc. My ex. Stole my entire savings of me & my children of $50k and laughs just like him. He didn’t pay me back either.

[@wretch1]

The only con is the stories he told.

[@PaulSmith-mh2yq]

Nice man - but I don't believe a word he says.

[@montanausa329]

Now his con is being a con on being a con. It was all a a lie for attention and money

[@keithkellogg5325]

Your caught your a lier total bs