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Thread: Books

  1. #1
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    Books

    Decided to open up a section where people can recommend books of interest to scam-busters.

    Here are few entries I would recommend:



    The Hedge Fund Fraud Casebook

    Amazon: The Hedge Fund Fraud Casebook (Wiley Finance): Bruce Johnson: 9780470560464: Amazon.com: Books




    Securities Fraud: Detection, Prevention and Control

    Amazon: Securities Fraud: Detection, Prevention and Control (Wiley Finance): Louis L. Straney: 9780470601570: Amazon.com: Books





    And couple written by the RealScam members:


    Robbing You With A Keyboard Instead Of A Gun: Cyber Crime - How They Do It

    Amazon: Robbing You With A Keyboard Instead Of A Gun: Cyber Crime - How They Do It: Mr. Lynn Edgington, Mr. Graham McMillan, Mr. Les Henderson, Mr. Paul Schlegel: 9781453895290: Amazon.com: Books




    Exposing The Ponzi Masters - The Profitable Sunrise Scam: How I Exposed It, How They Tried To Stop Me

    Amazon: Amazon.com: Exposing The Ponzi Masters - The Profitable Sunrise Scam: How I Exposed It, How They Tried To Stop Me eBook: James L. Paris, Robert Yetman: Kindle Store

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  3. #2
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    Re: Books

    "It's virtually impossible to violate rules ... but it's impossible for a violation to go undetected, certainly not for a considerable period of time." Bernie Madoff
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scam-...98399986981403

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    Re: Books

    Also the classic and I think the best coverage of Charles Ponzi,
    have not read it entirely yet, just few pages from different chapters.


    Amazon: Ponzi: The Incredible True Story of the King of Financial Cons

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    Re: Books

    Not a book, but a periodical newsletter/ magazine - "Money Laundering"

    MONEY_LAUNDERING.jpg

    I Hope Jurgen continues to publish it.

    Read here: ISSUU - Jürgen

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  9. #5
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    Re: Books

    Forgive me for no screen shots. Before I found the online version of MLM and Scams I used to kick it old school with stuff I could find in books. This is from my MLM collection, the first three I remember as very good. The others are enjoyable if you like the subject. I have 100s of books, mostly on money in some form, so it is a bit like that, they all pretty much say the same thing, maybe one or two nuggets, and a different cover.

    One thing I remember about this book is it highlights Bill Gouldd (2 d's), Sheri Shamin, and I believe Buck Reed but don't hold me to that. LOT of stuff on the web on those three.

    Spellbound: My Journey Through a Tangled Web of Success: Robert Morgan Styler, Robert Browning: 9780966237306: Amazon.com: Books

    ======================================

    Robert Fitzpatrick has done a lot of work in the MLM area. I believe he is one of the people interviewed in Penn and Tellers Bullshit episode on MLM.

    Amazon.com: False Profits: Seeking Financial and Spiritual Deliverance in Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Schemes eBook: Joyce K. Reynolds, Robert L. FitzPatrick: Kindle Store

    ======================================


    This is available in PDF form on the web, or for $29 bucks you can have my copy. A good read from someone who reached a fairly high level in MLM only to find out where the real money was being made.

    Merchants of Deception: An Insider's Chilling Look at the Worldwide, Multi Billion dollar Conspiracy of lies that is Amway and its Motivational Organizations: Eric Scheibeler: 9781439247150: Amazon.com: Books

    Here is a link to the PDF, it claims to be free. I know nothing about the link, so if you cheap bastards download it and get a virus, don't come bitching to me.

    https://archive.org/details/MerchantsOfDeception

    ======================================

    General Reading

    Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise: Stephen Butterfield: 9780896082533: Amazon.com: Books

    Amway Motivational Organizations: Behind the Smoke and Mirrors: Ruth Carter: 9780967107028: Amazon.com: Books

    All That Glitters Is Not God : Breaking Free from the Sweet Deceit of Multi-Level Marketing: Athena Dean: 9781579211349: Amazon.com: Books

    The Dark Side of the Pyramid: Patrick J. Smith: 9781591606727: Amazon.com: Books

    ======================================

    I have one pro-mlm book, who knows I may have more but as indicated my shelves are filled with crap. I don't really remember much about the book, but the people who reviewed it seemed to like it.

    Inside Network Marketing: Leonard W. Clements: 9780761521761: Amazon.com: Books
    "It's virtually impossible to violate rules ... but it's impossible for a violation to go undetected, certainly not for a considerable period of time." Bernie Madoff
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scam-...98399986981403

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  11. #6
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    Re: Books

    A few thoughts on some books that are not scam per se, but can sure keep one out of trouble.

    One off my favorite books of all time, and a great framework on how to handle money.

    One scam occurs:

    "Everyone is tempted," Arkad relates, "By opportunities whereby it would seem that a man could make large sums by investing his money in most plausible projects. Often friends and relatives are eagerly entering such investment and urge him to follow." The first sound principle of investment is security—what is a person who wants a loan from you offering as collateral? Arkad relates again his decision to invest his money with a brickmaker who was going to buy jewels to trade. Some Phoenicians took advantage of the brickmaker's naivety concerning jewels and sold him bits of colored glass.

    The Richest Man in Babylon (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    The Richest Man in Babylon: George Clason: 9781607962274: Amazon.com: Books

    =========================================

    I remember this quote from a guru named Ken Roberts, "No one knows anything" in reference to so called experts. A bit tongue in cheek, and perhaps ironic, but it plays out every day in the financial markets with folks who want to get their hands on your money. Whether paying too much for advice can be considered a scam I don't know, but as a framework this approach saves time and potentially keeps family money away from questionable situations.

    A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing (Tenth Edition): Burton G. Malkiel: 9780393340747: Amazon.com: Books

    =========================================

    One last one this front, there may be situations either by choice or by necessity that money is handed over to others to manage. The biggest mistake IMO is creating a dynamic where the person managing the money also produces the statements and provides the only means of withdraws or balance verification. Have said that numerous times, but at the end of virtually every fraud you will ever see that is exactly what allowed the conman to operate as long as they did.

    How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud (Fisher Investments Series): Kenneth L. Fisher, Lara Hoffmans: 9780470631966: Amazon.com: Books
    "It's virtually impossible to violate rules ... but it's impossible for a violation to go undetected, certainly not for a considerable period of time." Bernie Madoff
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scam-...98399986981403

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    Re: Books

    Not a Book but a great research paper on HYIPs, which a friend of mine contributed to.
    Highly recommend to read, and it is short.


    The Postmodern Ponzi Scheme: Empirical Analysis of High-Yield Investment Programs

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    Re: Books

    Dangerous Persuaders.



    You can download a free copy of Dangerous Persuaders in .pdf format HERE
    The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

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    Re: Books

    Sergey Mavrodi - Apocalypse (english edition of russian PiraMMMida book)

    A book written by a russian 1994 massive ponzi (MMM) operator.
    Full of ego, but it is his story, written while in jail and he is talking openly on how he ran it.

    After the release from jail he still continued to launch ponzi schemes, he is currently in hiding.

    mavrodi_apocalypse.jpg


    Amazon: Amazon.com: Apocalypse eBook: Sergey Mavrodi, Ivan Panchenko: Kindle Store

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    Re: Books



    The Golden Calf (Russian: Золотой телёнок, Zolotoy telyonok) is a famous satirical novel by Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov, released in 1931. Its main character Ostap Bender, also appeared in a previous novel by the authors called The Twelve Chairs. The title alludes to the "Golden calf" of the Bible; another possible rendering of it in English, less literal but better tuned to the air of the novel, would be "The Gilded Calf"
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Golden_Calf

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    Re: Books

    Quote Originally Posted by NikSam View Post
    Not a Book but a great research paper on HYIPs, which a friend of mine contributed to.
    Highly recommend to read, and it is short.


    The Postmodern Ponzi Scheme: Empirical Analysis of High-Yield Investment Programs
    Attaching it here (as you cannot rely on University's links being alive )
    Attached Files Attached Files

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    Re: Books

    Quote Originally Posted by NikSam View Post
    Attaching it here (as you cannot rely on University's links being alive )
    You seem to like this paper. It's not horrible, but there is absolutely no theoretical framework for calling HYIPs a post-modern phenomenon. They would be better off dropping jargon from another discipline altogether. Won't sound as nice, but it will be right.

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    Re: Books

    I'd love to read this one, but I'm really poor right now. Is there a free copy one can access somewhere?

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    Re: Books

    This isn't a book, but the newest issue of Consumer Reports (November 15 volume) is very interesting.

    The cover is "A Crying Shame: senior and their families lose $3 billion a year to con artists. What can we do to stop them?"

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    Re: Books

    Courtesy to ribshaw from another thread:

    Eyeing the Flash: The Making of a Carnival Con Artist


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  31. #17
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    Re: Books

    Getting a lot of press...

    http://www.amazon.com/Confidence-Gam...onfidence+game

    "Consumer fraud in America has risen by more than 60% since 2008; online scams have more than doubled. The most common con involves fake weight loss products, but some ploys are more ambitious"

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/ma...anted=all&_r=0
    "It's virtually impossible to violate rules ... but it's impossible for a violation to go undetected, certainly not for a considerable period of time." Bernie Madoff
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scam-...98399986981403

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