Magicians have a knack for making people believe they see something that is not real through a little sleight-of-hand, an action to divert attention from the real action taking place, or props that are not as they appear. My favorite are mentalists who “magically” manipulate and control minds into selecting something the mentalist has pre-selected. Regardless of the magic act, the magician is ultimately a skilled performer who relies on trickery and deceit to entertain people into believing that something is real when it is not.

Fraudsters are like magicians in that they rely on trickery to deceive us into accepting something as real when it is not. Instead of entertaining us (although I have to admit that some of the attempted frauds we have seen have been quite entertaining), their acts are an attempt to receive something from us that they are otherwise not entitled to. Just like a magic act, once you know how the act is performed, it is more difficult to be fooled; however, even the most skilled magicians can still be duped, as seen in “Fool Us,” featuring the renowned Penn and Teller. Therefore, it is critical to stay informed on the trends and technologies used to mislead us so that we can more effectively identify fraudsters.

Fraudsters are like magicians in that they rely on trickery to deceive us into accepting something as real when it is not. Instead of entertaining us (although I have to admit that some of the attempted frauds we have seen have been quite entertaining), their acts are an attempt to receive something from us that they are otherwise not entitled to. Just like a magic act, once you know how the act is performed, it is more difficult to be fooled; however, even the most skilled magicians can still be duped, as seen in “Fool Us,” featuring the renowned Penn and Teller. Therefore, it is critical to stay informed on the trends and technologies used to mislead us so that we can more effectively identify fraudsters.