How To Become A Professional Con Artist [Paperback]

Dennis M. Marlock (Author), Dennis Marlock (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1581602693 | ISBN-13: 978-1581602692 | Publication Date: September 2001

A fool and his money are soon parted, so the saying goes. And if the job is done right, the fool doesn't even realize it's happened until the wily con artist has moved on to the next victim or the next town. In this entertaining and eye-opening book, Dennis M. Marlock, a retired cop and chairman of the board for the international law enforcement organization Professionals Against Confidence Crime, takes the reader into the mind and greedy heart of the con man. You'll learn the mechanics behind famous swindles such as the pigeon drop, the Jamaican switch, bank-examiner schemes, three-card monte and even fortune-telling. You'll find out why a good scam artist rarely gets caught and, if he does, how he gets away with the lightest punishment or no punishment at all. If you've ever read a news story about a sucker getting taken and wondered how he could have fallen for that, you need to read this book before an honest-faced stranger offers you a deal too good to pass up.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dennis M. Marlock recently retired from the Milwaukee Police Department, where he spent most of his 31-year career investigating frauds and confidence crimes. He cofounded and currently oversees the daily operation of Professionals Against Confidence Crime. He is known throughout the United States as an expert on fraud prevention, and he has written two books and numerous articles on fraud and transient con artists.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Paladin Press (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581602693
• ISBN-13: 978-1581602692
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #192,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crime Pays, Lawyers Judges & Police Officers, January 20, 2006

By 

Clark (Katy, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How To Become A Professional Con Artist (Paperback)

The way this book was written was more for victims then Con artists. Being a retired con this book really didn't teach me anything that I didn't already know except maybe on how to sell a dog using a persons greed, this has me thinking what else I can use other then a dog to use to sell on the greed factor.

The author also makes the assumption that cons have long rap sheets and go to jail quite often, in my career I have been arrested once back in the 80's when I first started out and had a 90 day stay at the gray bar hotel and was given a one way ticket out of town on condition of my release and that I would not talk to the press (The police chief didn't want me to talk to the town reporter)

He also makes the assumption that a con has no friends and no social connection, first rule on being a con, do not con people in your backyard or city for that matter, airline tickets are cheap these days and it is not hard taking a Friday night flight out and a Sunday night flight back (Day job you know in sales)

The author also makes the assumption that all con games are illegal, with the right lawyer that you can bounce off ideas with can come up with how to make it legal.

If you want to get into the business I would still read the book and purchase others on the newer games, if you use any of the tricks in this book you will surly get a stay at the gray bar hotel since these are all well known by now.

Also the author makes note of a lotto scam and you need to be a foreigner from another country to make it work, another reason you can't cash in a lotto ticket yourself is if you owe on child support or back taxes which your winnings will go to pay that off, you don't have to be a big winner in the lotto 5 out of 6 still wins in the thousands.

Just remember seek legal advice before you break the law!

100 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The con is on the reader for buying this book, November 5, 2002

By 

T. Schmitt (Issaquah, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Become A Professional Con Artist (Paperback)

This book is a lightweight book on scams and cons. Of its 10 chaptures, only 2 of them cover cons in detail. And, of those cons, they're all of the old and well known, and well publisized, variety, with little original material. The rest of the 8 chaptures are fluff, and the entire book can be read in about two hours.

I was expecting form this book that, well, at least it would live up to its title. I wanted a book to describe how cons are created and executed. Anyone hoping to earn a second wage as a con by reading this book better not give up his day job!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to hang onto your life savings..., November 1, 2001

By 

Lindsay Smith (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Become A Professional Con Artist (Paperback)

Author Dennis Marlock cons the reader of his new book, How to Become a Professional Con Artist, even before he's finished the Preface. It only gets better from there.
Do you want to know how con artists think, feel and act? You should -- if you hope to hang onto a good part of your life savings when you meet one or more of these scoundrels. The information you need is all here, distilled from 31 years of first-hand experience as a police detective investigating frauds and confidence crime.
If you're a potential con artist, thinking that this may provide a blueprint for your success in swindling, you'll discover why you may want to rethink that idea.
How to Become a Professional Con Artist is as entertaining as it is informative. I highly recommend you read it before someone approaches you on the street with a line like this: "Pardon me, ma'am. Look at this wad of cash I just found. Did you happen to lose it?"