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Dennis Marlock

License To Steal: Traveling Con Artists: Their Games, Their Rules Your Money Paperback – January 1, 1994

by Dennis Marlock (Author), John Dowling (Author)

3.9 14 ratings

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This is an in-depth study of the Gypsy Mafia, the criminal element of the Romani population. Through police files, newspapers, historical data and interviews with victims, the authors expose the truth about this highly organized multibillion dollar business and tell you how to protect your money from con artists of all kinds.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Paladin Press
Publication date

January 1, 1994
Dimensions

6 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

0873647513
ISBN-13

978-0873647519
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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

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Paladin Press (January 1, 1994)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0873647513
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0873647519
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.25 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,554,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12,787 in Philosophy of Ethics & Morality
- #12,803 in Criminology (Books)
- #288,268 in Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.9 14 ratings

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3.9 out of 5

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Patty M

Excellent and informative

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

Great insights into the tricks these organized groups of people employ in order to rob and cheat others. I know several elderly people who were preyed upon and robbed in their own homes. They take advantage of peoples' kindness and trust. I admire the effort of this retired police officer who wrote the book in order to warn others. For more information, check out YouTube videos that show various tourist scams before traveling to Europe on vacation especially.

Helpful

I. Chudov

My own expericnes confirm this

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2009

Verified Purchase

I come from Russia, where we have Gypsies also. They do the same things as described by Marlock's book, except that instead of stealing cars, they would steal horses in the older times.

The book is very helpful, as crooks try to create artificial situations that confuse the marks, so being a little prepared would help dealing with them immensely.

All the negative reviews seem to be motivated by motives other than merits of Marlock's book.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Carol

Scaming the truth?

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2005

Verified Purchase

The disparaging reveiws about this book, to me, can mean only one thing: there are people out there who don't want the truth to be told. Is there such a thing as the Gypsy Mafia? Yes. Are they costing all of us by perpetuating their very lucrative scams? Yes.

Do those involved want you to read this book? No! Why? Because if we don't they exist we won't see them coming.

This is not a racist book and only those with an agenda would see it as one.

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

rodney

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2015

Verified Purchase

Great book. Love the short stories/explainations about how the Gypsie Mafia run their games and hustles.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Honey B.

Hate speech

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2022

This book is written by an ex police officer and spreads misinformation, propaganda, and hate speech against the Romani people.

It should not be allowed for sale.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

The hatred and racism in this book is beyond staggering ...

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2016

The hatred and racism in this book is beyond staggering and quite honestly it belongs in the same category as Birth of A Nation and Mein Kamp. Marlock recycles the same racist and xenophobic tropes that have paralyzed and prevented the Rom people from being accepted into broader society. Considering the history of these peoples, its no surprise. Its also not surprising that he would attack Dr. Hancock whom is truly one of the most respect and foremost experts on the Romani people.

Helpful

Tammy Reid

Truth telling at it's best

Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2005

I must say I am appalled at the negative feedback on this book, and can only deduce that these reviews are written by those of whom this book speaks! Granted not ALL people of any ethnic race or population are bad, Dennis is simply exposing a behind the scenes multi-billion dollar business that just so happens to be run by the Gypsy culture. The stories in here are true and not fabrications. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Marlock and listening to him speak. He is a very knowledgeable individual who has certainly done his homework and knows exactly what he is talking about. I highly doubt Mr. Marlock is making millions on this, it seems to be his passion, his life's work to get the word out there so less innocent people fall victim to such cruel crimes. The honest people work hard for their money legitimately, and no one should be allowed to just take it away. To all the scam artists out there, spend less time writing bad reviews and go get an education and a real job!

Dennis, continue the great work! You are doing society a favor by showing us what we might not see on our own!

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

William Randall

Accurate and informative

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 1999

I manage an insurance investigation department. Though this book did not cover the many insurance fraud schemes, it was very accurate in describing the culture of this group of fraud artists. Invaluable reading for a fraud investigator.

32 people found this helpful

Helpful

Truth Be Told

The larger truth

Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2006

People of all groups, ethnicities, religions, and races commit cons, steal, and such. To paint a whole ethnic group, Gypsies (Romani folk) with the same broad brush as the few among them who commit crimes is no more valid than to call all whites "oven tenders" because of the Holocaust or call all corporate officers "embezzlers" because of Enron or to call all men as rapists because a few have done so. These sorry characterizations merely illustrate how twisted the slanderer's own views are.

While the grain of truth is that some people of all groups might con other people, the larger truth is that all groups have their share of criminals and no group has a monopoly on virtue.

Marlock clearly has written a book that is quite racist and wrong in spite of the grain of truth that some few people are indeed criminals.

Marlock tries to cover his tail by saying that he does not mean "all" Romani folk but then he goes on to make it quite clear that means "virtually all" but can't say so, without legal liability issues. It's pure CYA and then he goes on and on with his racist slanders.

Yes, cons do exist and this book describes many of them. No, they are not "Gypsy crimes" but just crimes and are committed by people of all ethnicities. Too bad he doesn't just stick to describing the crimes and never mind discussing his racial hatreds.

Marlock's agenda is clear. If he only wanted to protect innocents from crimes, he would not focus on a single very-small group of people. The number of Romani people in this world is miniscule compared to the number of criminals in the world so his focus on Gypsies illustrates his true agenda here is merely to demonize a tiny, relatively-defenseless group of people. The Furer's Reichspropagandaleiter Minister Dr. Goebbels would be proud of Marlock as one of their own, I am sure.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Outraged

Gypsies, again...

Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2000

Well, if you can't blame anyone else, blame the Gypsies. Dennis Marlock is doing very well probably, using Gypsies as his career enhancer. However, replace Gypsies with Jews, Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, and you would have a libel lawsuit on your hands. Dennis, keep talking about Gypsies, and you true racism continues to show through.

13 people found this helpful

Helpful