Frank Abagnale

Abstract:

Before becoming an adult, Frank Abagnale lived several lives, concurrently. He was envied by little boys, and loved by women as a pilot flying for Pan Am. He gain respect from his future father in law, by taking the Bar exam and becoming a lawyer. Frank even worked in a hospital as a Doctor, before realizing it was not a career for him. How did Frank achieve all this in less than four years, by stealing the identities of people he encountered. Frank was one of the children who envied the life of pilots, and began a grand scheme to ensure that he could become one. He studied how a pilot hopped on flights, and how to create a paycheck even bank personnel would believe. This charade lasted for four years before the FBI finally caught up with Frank in Paris.

Introduction:

Too many of us, the story of Frank Abagnale is simply an entertaining tale, however to the many industries he affected, it is a testament that security policies shouldn't be taken lightly. Even as a teenager, Frank convinced flight crews that he was a pilot, banks that his paychecks were real, emergency rooms that he was a doctor, and his fiancй that he was a lawyer. Since Frank Abagnale, these industries tightened up their standards on security and identity management, but the vulnerabilities, and potential for a con like this, still exist. Did we protect against the wrong criminals, or have criminals adapted themselves to our precautions faster than we can implement them? If our country historically learns from their mistakes, how is it that we've yet to learn from the story of Frank Abagnale?

Today's Abagnale:

It is difficult to narrow the reasons why vulnerabilities exist that those creative, intelligent persons such as Frank Abagnale can take advantage of. One reason is that unless you are a victim of identity theft, you are not as concerned about it as you should be. Although you here of cases everyday where an individuals identity was stolen, and used for profit by the thieves, many persons possess the "50-feet tall and bullet proof" view on life. They feel as if it could never happen to them, and therefore do not take the necessary precautions to ensure their identities are safe forever. For example, my fiancй would always throw away credit card statements without thoroughly ripping them up. These document could easily be pieced together and provide our address, phone number, credit card number, and other valuable information.

Additionally many people do not realize how little information is needed to steal a person's identity. All that is required is an address, phone number, social security number, and work phone number. For example, when you write a check to pay for a purchase, or credit card bill, several important pieces of information are disclosed to unknown recipients. Not only are your address and phone number on the check, but also your banks address and phone number. If you are required to write your drivers license number, work phone number, birthday, or another credit card number as identification, then the thief possesses even more knowledge to use against you. From a work phone number you can gain information on where a person is employed, useful in credit applications. Surprisingly, social security numbers stand as driver's license numbers in almost twenty states and as identification numbers for the entire armed forces.

Another reason why Frank Abagnale's exist in our modern world is the change in ethics and morality. Mr. Abagnale exploited the system by becoming friends with various personnel in the banking industry. From there he asked questions and learned about previously secret bank processes. There were no controls in place to prevent the staff from divulging this information, because no one had yet to exploit their system. Their generation was morally and ethically more responsible than ours. If someone wanted money from a bank, they would enter the bank in a furry and rob it, or go through their database and find the information necessary. Now, bank employees are less ethical and often will succumb to bribes of various sorts. For example, if I was looking for information on a specific account, I could go to an employee with access to the account, and offer them money in place of the information.

Solutions/Recommendations:

My discussion primarily focused on the public's involvement in protecting their credit. We cannot be assured that the protection corporations provide on our records will suffice against attackers. Knowledge can be