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    America's Guide to Fraud Prevention
    America's Guide to Fraud Prevention
    America's Guide to Fraud Prevention
    Ebook110 pages1 hour

    America's Guide to Fraud Prevention

    By Steve Comisar

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    About this ebook

    Steve Comisar, aka Brett Champion, is the most famous con man on planet earth , and America's Guide to Fraud Prevention is the most popular book on fraud ever written. Learning about fraud prevention from Steve Comisar is like learning about baseball from Babe Ruth. In this classic bestseller, the iconic con man Steve Comisar - aka Brett Champion - dispenses solid fraud prevention advice and entertaining anecdotes from his personal adventures.

    Praise for America's Guide to Fraud Prevention:

    "A great book, and Steve Comisar is one of the most exciting guests I ever had on my show." - Jay Leno

    "I learned a lot form this book and from having Steve Comisar on my TV show many times." - Barbara Walters

    "Hands-down the best book on fraud available today." - USA Today

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSteve Comisar
    Release dateJun 8, 2012
    ISBN9781476027241
    America's Guide to Fraud Prevention
    Author

    Steve Comisar

    Born in 1961, Steve Comisar grew up in Beverly Hills, California and became an actor at a young age, appearing in numerous TV shows and commercials. One of his first acting jobs was with Valerie Bertinelli in the TV Movie The Seduction of Gina (1984) (TV). Steve went on to play such roles as Walter the waiter in the action adventure film, Fists of Iron (1995). In the 90's Steve became famous as the golden tongued con artist who mesmerized wealthy investors into handing over an estimated $30 million dollars, most of which was spent on fast living, faster women and high stakes gambling. The FBI placed him in the top ten con men of all time. After a brief stint in Club-Fed, Steve reinvented himself as Brett Champion and parlayed his con man celebrity brand into dozens of guest appearances on TV talk shows and news magazine programs. Steve wrote the best selling book, Americas Guide to Fraud Prevention, and starred in several TV specials on Fraud, Scams and con artists. His gripping TLC special, Grifters, Scam Artists and Flim Flam Men went on to receive high critical acclaim. Cementing himself as America's foremost authority on fraud, Steve starred in Making Crime Pay, a documentary used to train several government agencies including the FBI, CIA, and Secret Service. As a crowning achievement, Steve became the on camera fraud prevention expert on several top-rated TV shows such as "Dateline NBC" (1992) and The View. In 2002, after signing with the legendary talent agent Barry Freed, Steve dedicated his full time efforts to movie acting, landing a co-starring role in the motion picture Tough Luck (2003) with Armand Assante, Norman Reedus and Dagmara Dominczyk. Steve's promising acting career was put on hiatus by another unscheduled trip to federal prison where he currently awaits release to once again explode onto the Hollywood movie scene as a force to be reckoned with. Steve is presently negotiating the sale of movie rights to his fascinating life story. A book deal, documentary film and a reality TV series are also on the table. Steve's motto is: "Reach for the stars and have no regrets".

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      Book preview

      America's Guide to Fraud Prevention - Steve Comisar

      64

      America’s Guide To Fraud Prevention

      Steve Comisar, aka Brett Champion

      Published by Steve Comisar at Smashwords

      Copyright 1997 Steve Comisar

      Art Director: Maria Ester Hawrys

      Assistant Director: Elenor Kallberg

      Graphics: Susan A Boriotti and Frank Grucci

      Manuscript Coordinator: Phyllis Gaynor

      Book Production: Gavin Aghamore, Joanne Bennette, Michelle Keller, Christine Mathosian and Tammy Sauter

      Circulation: Iyatunde Abdullah, Cathy DeGregory and Annette Hellinger

      Library of Congress Catalogin-in-Publication Data available upon request

      ISBN 1-56072-333-5

      © 1997 Steve Comisar, aka Brett Champion

      Steve Comisar

      c/o Barevitch Management

      P.O. Box 341

      Mt.Clemens, MI 48046-0341

      E-Mail: SteveComisar1@gmail.com

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic, tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without permission from the publishers.

      The authors and publisher have taken care in preparation of this book, but make no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of information contained in this book.

      This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered herein. It is sold with the clear understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal or any other professional services. If legal or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. FROM A DECLARATION OF PARTICIPANTS JOINTLY ADOPTED BY A COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION AND A COMMITTEE OF PUBLISHERS.

      Printed in the United States of America

      Dedication

      To Rena, Lynda, & Novie

      The three most important people in my life.

      Without your patience, love, and support,

      this book would not be possible.

      And to The Honorable Manuel L. Real.

      You believed in me and gave me a chance.

      For this, I will always be grateful

      and never break the law again.

      Disclaimer

      This book is not intended as an instruction manual for con artists trying to make a fast buck. This book was written for consumers and business people so they can recognize different types of fraud and avoid being taken advantage of at home and in the workplace.

      Crime doesn’t pay, and even the best con artist eventually gets caught and ends up in prison. I did.

      I did not participate in all of the frauds described in this book. Any references made that resemble actual persons or places are purely coincidental.

      Preface

      Since the first publishing of America’s Guide To Fraud Prevention in 1997, a lot has changed. Over the past fifteen years Steve Comisar, aka Brett Champion, has become an iconic figure in the entertainment industry. After appearing as a guest on over 100 TV talk shows and news magazine programs, Steve Comisar became the on-camera fraud prevention guru on Dateline NBC and The View. Today the media considers Steve Comisar the greatest con man who ever lived, and the world’s leading authority on fraud and scams.

      Steve went on to star in the documentary film Making Crime Pay and the network TV special, In the Mind of a Con Man, both of which received enormous critical acclaim. Simultaneously pursuing his career as a movie actor, Steve Comisar landed a co-starring role in the motion picture Tough Luck opposite Armand Assante and Norman Reedus. Steve has just finished writing the final draft to his motion picture screenplay, We Are The Champions, which is based on his true life story. Today, when you Google the name ‘Steve Comisar’, you literally get thousands of results. Some of Steve’s movie and TV appearances are also on YouTube.

      Although a lot has changed in fraud prevention with the explosion of the internet, we have kept Steve’s book in its original context. We hope you enjoy it.

      Frank Barevitch

      Barevitch Management

      April 23, 2012

      Introduction

      Hi, I’m Steve Comisar, aka Brett Champion. I’m 35 years old and from Beverly Hills, California. At least that’s where I lived before I was arrested by the FBI, charged with fraud, and sentenced to four years in a federal prison. Since I was 18 years old, I’ve defrauded thousands of victims out of multi-millions of dollars. I have been involved in almost every type of fraud or scam known to man. I consider myself an expert on fraud.

      This is my third federal felony conviction for fraud and the first time I was actually sentenced to prison. All of the other times I got lucky and only received probation as a form of punishment.

      Being sent to prison really gave me a wakeup call. I decided to take this negative situation and turn it into a positive one by rehabilitating myself and turning my life around while incarcerated. I’ve dedicated the rest of my life to helping others through fraud prevention. I have taken my entire lifetime of experiences with all types of fraud and written this book in my crusade to combat fraud.

      This entire book was written while I was serving my sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Lompoc, California, a minimum security facility for white collar offenders. Some people refer to it as Club Fed.

      Upon release, my plans include a national book tour, public appearances, seminars, and television appearances in support of my campaign against fraud. That’s why I have become Brett Champion, Consumer Watchdog!

      I hope you will enjoy my first book. If you read it carefully you’ll never become a victim of fraud. If you’ve already been a victim of fraud, don’t feel bad. Everyone gets burned at least once. You’ll just be a lot smarter the next time around.

      Portions of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards payment of restitution to the victims of my personal frauds.

      Chapter 1

      All or Nothing

      The reason people fall victim to fraud and the reason people commit fraud is simple. GREED! The con artist is tired of working at an honest job for the slim rewards. He becomes greedy and tries to take shortcuts to make a million dollars overnight. The same is true for the victim. He thinks he is going to get something for nothing or a fantastic deal or opportunity. He, too, thinks he is taking a shortcut and allows his greed to get the better of him.

      It’s like the free cheese in the mousetrap. The con artist and the victim are losers. The con artist will eventually get caught and go to jail, and the victim will lose his hard-earned money. Wake up and smell the hot coffee. There’s no free lunch. There are no shortcuts. You’re not going to get something for nothing or next to nothing.

      You’re not going to get a $50,000.00 loan if you have bad credit or no credit. You’re not going to get a Sony 27" color television for $99.00. You’re not going to make $500.00 an hour stuffing envelopes at home in your spare time. You’re never going to receive that new Lincoln Towncar you were told you just won over the telephone.

      Use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But don’t feel bad. Some of my victims were the smartest, wealthiest, and most educated people around. They were just caught off-guard and their greed got

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