Easy Money [Paperback]

Charles Whitlock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1994

Exposes every kind of underhanded trick that can cause individuals and businesses to lose money, from the simple street con to million dollar "tax shelter" hoaxes.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1992, some nine million persons were victimized by various forms of confidence trickery, according to business consultant Whitlock in this massive, well-organized and depressing overview. This catalogue of theft and extortion tells of an entrepreneur who breaks windows at night and sells window repair by day; a Fed Ex driver who collects $96.25 each on 50 false COD packages in a day; fake repairmen who charge an old woman $1200 for unneeded household repairs and steal her TV. Other areas where the buyer must beware include travel, where deposits for tour packages disappear; banking, where stolen credit card numbers are "retailed" to con artists; and medicine, where physicians file false Medicare claims. The author assiduously lists government and private agencies for the bilked to notify. So prevalent are crooked schemes in American life that law enforcement agencies can't investigate, let alone prosecute, more than a small fraction of them.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Scams are not like the usual white-collar crimes because victims willingly participate. The victims, or "marks," are those of us who are greedy, lazy, anxious, or scared, who want to believe that they can get something for nothing. The con artist "promises the moon for a few paltry dollars and delivers nothing," aiming at people who are essentially honest and often deeply religious. The lonely and the elderly are especially vulnerable. Whitlock, a business lecturer, describes about 20 major cons, using anecdotal evidence that keeps the narrative moving. Each chapter concludes with the answers to "How you can protect yourself" and "What you should do if you've been conned?" Two caveats predominate: If it sounds too good to be true, it is; and people's infatuation with the telephone needs to be tempered. An entertaining (and precautionary) choice for most collections.
Alex Wenner, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 357 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821750178
• ISBN-13: 978-0821750179
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,623,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Easy Money is an easy read, April 26, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Easy Money (Hardcover)

The book Easy Money: The Con Game Exposed written by Charles R. Whitlock was a really easy book to read and understand. The book gave real life examples about how many people in the United States are being fooled by sly con artists. I found the stories to be a little bit comical at times for example, when the book went into detail about carnival scams. Although the book is about a very serious matter I think the author had a underlining sense of humor in his writing. Overall the book was decent I feel it was a little out dated since we are in the year 2007. However, i feel that the book was a good read for anyone at any age.