Frank Abagnale, the inspiration for “Catch Me If You Can,” talks about scams on a crypto forum

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Frank Abagnale, the ex-con turned security consultant whose intriguing story was told in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed film Catch Me If You Can, delved into digital fraud at a major crypto forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Abagnale, the real-world inspiration for the crime comedy-drama film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, spoke to conference attendees this week in an exclusive gathering with members of the financial and crypto industries.

American scammer talks about cybersecurity on Russian cryptocurrency forum

In his presentation, the former convicted felon, who assumed identities and forged bank checks and other documents in his youth, thoroughly analyzed modern digital fraud schemes and vulnerabilities in common online practices, and shared recommendations for protecting personal data.

The lecture, titled “Capture the Legend,” attracted around 100 representatives from the business, financial and crypto sectors, including major digital asset exchanges, Russian business news agency RBC reported on Saturday.

Mr. Abagnale has been invited to be the first speaker in the new RBC Global Talks, which features guests from global experts and thought leaders from a variety of fields. This was organized as a side event of the International Blockchain Life 2025 Forum held in Dubai.

This was the 15th anniversary edition of the conference, Russia’s most important international cryptocurrency gathering, aimed at connecting the Russian-speaking and global cryptocurrency communities.

Some of this year’s headlines included Pavel Durov announcing a new distributed computing platform called Cocoon, an alternative to centralized cloud services such as Google Cloud and Amazon AWS.

According to the technology entrepreneur and founder and owner of Telegram, a popular messenger in the cryptocurrency space, today’s AI services rely heavily on centralized providers who can access, collect, and exploit users’ personal data.

Abagnale holds no cryptocurrencies and has no social media accounts.

Frank Abagnale also touched on the issue of personal cybersecurity. During the post-speech discussion, he said he does not use cryptocurrencies or have any social media accounts as part of his safety strategy.

Mr. Abagnale answered questions for more than an hour in an informal setting. Conference participants received copies of the new edition of his book, printed especially for this event. Video recording was not allowed.

Spielberg’s film script, which made his story world famous, is based on the semi-autobiography of the same name, which he co-wrote with author Stan Redding. This book details his criminal activities.

During his time as a fraudster, Abagnale allegedly cashed $2.5 million worth of fake checks while impersonating a doctor, professor, lawyer and even a Pan Am pilot, flying millions of miles as a dead-end employee.

Some of his claims have been disputed, and even his own biography seems to have been fabricated, or at least exaggerated.

But other things are likely true to some extent, as he was arrested multiple times for various crimes in the 1960s and 70s when he was a teenager and in his 20s. He has also spent time in prison in the United States, Sweden, and France, and is a national of those countries.

Eventually, Abagnale transitioned into a career as a security consultant, advising a variety of organizations including corporations and banks. He has given numerous speeches, lectures, interviews, and made numerous public appearances, including speaking on Google and popular talk shows.