Frank Abagnale, a skilled and resourceful individual, grew up in Long Island and attended high school there. His father operated a successful stationery store on Madison Avenue in New York City, but unfortunately, the business suffered a significant loss, and his parents divorced.
With only $100 in his pocket and a strong desire to make up for his father's losses and reunite his parents, Abagnale embarked on an unconventional journey. He began to develop his remarkable talent for creative transformation, starting with forging his driver's license by altering his birth year.
Over the next few years, Abagnale, who appeared much older due to his early birth certificate alteration, assumed various identities, including those of a pilot for Pan Am airline, a doctor, a lawyer, and a professor of history. Through the use of forged checks, he accumulated a fortune of over $2.5 million.
Throughout his five-year criminal career, Abagnale was pursued by FBI agent Carl Hanratty in a cat-and-mouse game. He managed to evade capture by repeatedly using his fake "Pan Am" identity card to escape to other states and countries, earning the nickname "The Skywayman."
After being arrested in France in 1969, Abagnale was extradited to Sweden, where he served time in a Malmö prison. He was later extradited to the United States and sentenced to 12 years in prison. However, in 1974, the US government offered him early release in exchange for revealing his criminal skills and knowledge.
Abagnale chose to work with the FBI, holding expert seminars in its financial crimes unit. His expertise soon gained international recognition, and he went on to establish his own company, "Abagnale & Associates," which provides services for expert assessment and advice on documents and certificates.
Abagnale married and had three sons, and with his company profits, he paid back the entire $2.5 million he had once swindled. He has an intelligence quotient of 136 and has written a book, "The Art of the Steal," a guide to preventing fraud and counterfeit crime.
In 2001, Abagnale published his autobiography, "The Art of the Steal," which was later adapted into a film, "Catch Me If You Can," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2015, he was named an AARP Fraud Watch Ambassador, where he helps educate consumers about ways to protect themselves from identity theft and cybercrime.
