Bernie Madoff. Everyone knows his name. He conned investors out of billions of dollars. But how did he do it? How did this man get otherwise intelligent, rational and sometimes wealthy people to turn over their life savings? Amazingly, con criminals and “fraudsters” like Madoff are able to trick people into buying phantom investments that are nothing more than Ponzi schemes.
Premiering on WTVI Friday, January 28 at 10 p.m., Tricks of the Trade is a new documentary that finally opens up the con criminal playbook and shows viewers how it’s done — and then shows them how to avoid becoming the criminal’s next easy mark. Featuring profiles of convicted criminals, fraud victims, academic experts and securities regulators, this new public television documentary unravels the mysteries of investment fraud to reveal how these fraudsters psychologically manipulate their victims.
As Tricks of the Trade explains, an investment fraud victim is not the stereotypical frail, little old woman living alone. A fraud victim is likely to be a man who is self-reliant, optimistic, college-educated and, surprisingly enough, financially literate. As Jim Vitale, a con criminal featured in Tricks of the Trade boasts, “I would say that the educated person is an easier target than the uneducated person. That very ignorance, of thinking that he can’t get taken, is what I would use against him to take him.”
Last year, consumers reported losing over $1.7 billion to fraud. As the nation prepares for a wave of retiring baby boomers, fraudsters are working on ways to crack into boomers’ 401(k) nest eggs and turn retirement dreams into retirement nightmares.
Tricks of the Trade empowers viewers and shows them the simple steps they can take to protect themselves from financial ruin. By turning the tables on con criminals and then checking those answers with state or federal regulators, viewers can avoid the worst forms of investment fraud.
The truth is, regardless of age or circumstance, anyone with money is bound to hear from a fraudster. Anyone.
Tricks of the Trade is presented by WQED Pittsburgh and distributed nationally through American Public Television (APT).
Want to know more? Go to www.saveandinvest.org and check out tips on how NOT to become a victim of investment fraud.
