Don't fall for it : a short history of financial scams / Ben Carlson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carlson, Benjamin Patrick, 1981- author.

Contributor:

Elizabeth Kelsey Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Commercial crimes.

Fraud.

Swindlers and swindling.

Swindlers and swindling--Case studies.

Fraud--Case studies.

Commercial crimes--Case studies.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

vii, 179 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2020]

Summary:

"Why does financial fraud persist? Why do rich people get taken advantage of in financial scams? Who are some of the most successful charlatans and hucksters of all-time and why were they so successful? What are the financial and business lessons we can learn from some of the biggest frauds in history? What are the conditions under which fraud tends to work best? What steps can people take to avoid being taken advantage of with their money? Why is it often harder to stay rich than to get rich? Each chapter in the book will profile different frauds, charlatans, hucksters or victims of scams. Following stories and anecdotes about how these frauds were carried out, there will be studies and lessons detailing what can be learned from these experiences and how they apply to business, money management, and investing"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chapter 1. No one sells miracles

Goats as Viagra?

Radio

The placebo effect

Correlation does not imply causation

Same as it ever was. Chapter 2. How to sell anything

The count

Selling the Eiffel Tower

Everyone is in sales. Chapter 3. Fast Money

The promise of huge returns with minimal effort

When trust goes too far

Do your homework. Chapter 4. It's the end of the world as we know it

Cognitive dissonance

The man who walked on water

No one knows what's going to happen

Why pessimism sells better than optimism

The value of 'I don't know'. Chapter 5. Sleight of hand

Bad Brad

A magician reveals his secrets. Chapter 6. When success doesn't translate

Defeated by decency

Don't try to get rich twice. Chapter 7. When fraud flourishes

When there's an 'Expert' with a good story

When greed is abundant

When capital becomes blind When the banking industry gets involved

When individuals begin taking their cues from the crowd

When markets are rocking

When the opportunity presents itself

When human beings are involved

When innovation runs rampant. Chapter 8. The siren song of new technologies

The railway Napoleon

The media's role in a bubble

The other side

The silver lining of a market crash. Chapter 9. The seductive power of FOMO

How to create a monopoly

The roaring 20s

When the tide goes out

Not a Ponzi but close enough

The seductive power of FOMO. Chapter 10. Type I charlatan

John Law and the Mississippi Company

Speculation Is a hell of a drug

Pop goes the bubble

Type I and Type II charlatans. Chapter 11. Type II charlatan

The South Sea Company

Type II charlatan John Blunt

The bubble act

The echo bubble and Dunbar's number. Chapter 12. Fooled by intelligence

Newton's mania The problem with smartest people in the room

Why smart people make dumb decisions

Fooling yourself with complexity. Chapter 13. How gullible are you?

Ponzi versus Bernie

The sacred relationship. Chapter 14. The easiest person to fool

Getting rich versus staying rich

Shot out of a cannon

The biggest fraud of all. Conclusion: six signs of financial fraud

1. The money manager has custody of your assets

2. There is an aura of exclusivity in the pitch

3. When the strategy is too complicated to understand

4. When the story Is too good to be true

5. When the returns are ridiculously good

6. When they tell you exactly what you want to hear.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Elizabeth Kelsey Memorial Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Carlson, Benjamin Patrick, 1981- Don't fall for it

ISBN:

9781119605164

1119605164

OCLC:

1100782949