HOW TO CON A CON
By
Lieutenant Dennis M. Marlock
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Article
Article
Reprint July 1992
"[F]or the possibility will always exist, that human ingenuity in contriving fraud
may go beyond any cases which have before occurred; and as new devices of fraud are
invented, they must be met by new contrivances. . . -- Hovenden, Treatise on Frauds
(1825)
Prior to 1985, con artists viewed the City of Milwaukee Wisconsin as "a place where
pigeons roost," or so it seemed. Like other communities nationwide, the prevailing
public attitude concerning fraud victims was that "if people were naive, gullible, or
stupid enough to be taken in, then they had it coming."
It is not surprising, therefore, that citizens frequently chose to accept
culpability for their victimization and allowed these offenses to go unreported to the
police. Likewise, when such reports were filed they rarely represented an accurate
portrayal of the offense.
Compounding the problem was the fact that Officers taking these reports had little
knowledge of the subtle differences inherent in the inexhaustible array of scams used
by con artists. These officers tended to place all frauds into the generic category of
"theft by trick." Of course, much to the delight of the perpetrators, this general
lack of understanding assured them of unlimited wealth with little or no chance of
being held accountable for their crimes.
Absent any serious law enforcement intervention, the incidence of confidence crime
activity eventually became so prevalent that it prompted an all-out attempt by the
department to identify, locate, and hold accountable the elusive thieves in their
midst. Unfortunately, the attempt failed.
Not a Local Problem
After months of researching the criminal history records of local fraud suspects,
the department realized that the bulk of Milwaukee's confidence crime problem could
not be attributed to these suspects. Rather, the problem involved transient
individuals who were wise enough to limit their criminal activities to three or four
offenses and then move on to another location. Even when greed clouded the judgment of
some con artists and they were apprehended, they frequently managed to post bond and
vanish before the officers discovered their true identities or the extent of their
criminal activities.
This is when the department began to focus its attention on interstate con artists.
Fortunately, as is often the case in law enforcement operations, the department
received word from a neighboring police agency that a bank fraud suspect in their
custody admitted to his involvement in several offenses in Milwaukee. After several
interviews the suspect agreed to assist in the apprehension of the individual he
purported to be "one of the most active and successful con artists in the Midwest." In
the months to follow, the suspect worked with Federal Agents to apprehend Alphonse
Mortier, a 54-year old man regarded by his criminal peers as being "the best of the
best."
A Thief Tells-All
Shortly after Mortier's conviction for grand theft in the state of Michigan, he was
extradited to Milwaukee in connection with his involvement in several bank frauds.
Deciding to tell all Mortier quickly pointed out that law enforcement efforts to
apprehend criminals such as himself were often ineffective primarily because the
police don't really understand how the game is played.
To substantiate this claim, Mortier proceeded to tell the police what they did
wrong in their investigations. One issue brought to light was the use of police
radios. If police were aware of the game rules, then they wouldn't use their radios
when closing in to arrest a suspect. Didn't they realize that the vast majority of con
artists possess sophisticated radios and closely monitor all local police
transmissions.
Another case in point was the number of man-hours wasted investigating past and
present bank employees, simply because the suspect knew the details about the victim's
bank account. According to Mortier, con artists frequently call potential victims
days, or even weeks before the actual offense is committed. The purpose of these calls
is to obtain details about the intended victim for future use. In Mortier's words,
"You wouldn't believe what people will tell you over the phone."
Most importantly, however, the
detectives discovered that they had placed too much emphasis, and devoted too much
time and effort in attempting to apprehend the con artist. A much easier approach
would have been to remove the one thing necessary to the survival of all con
artists--easy access to their victims' money.
“...citizens frequently chose to accept culpability for their victimization and
allowed these offenses to go unreported to the police.”
Lieutenant Marlock serves with the Milwaukee Police Department.
Once deprived of their ability to obtain money from their intended victims,
even the most
experienced con would be forced to seek a different line of work. What, then, does
a police department do to deprive a con artist easy access to potential victims?
A Program Is Born
An obvious and commonly overlooked similarity between victims who fall prey to
the kaleidoscope of frauds in use today is the financial institution. Before
giving money to the con artist, the vast majority of victims must first withdraw
it from their bank.
Another common bond among victims is their disbelief that they were taken in by
a con artist. How many times have investigators heard a victim say, "I can't
believe I fell for this scam? What was I thinking?" In reality, they weren't
thinking at all.
As all con artists know so well, the success of any scheme depends entirely on
their ability to suspend--if even for an instant--the ability of their intended
victim to think. As Mortier stated so succinctly, "Every one of my victims was
smart enough to see through my scam. My job was to make sure that they didn't have
any time to think."
With this knowledge the Milwaukee Police Department decided to join forces with
local financial institutions. Through a series of meetings both parties agreed to
devise a method that would afford potential victims with a few moments of clear
thought.
What resulted from those meetings was the creation of a "cash withdrawal alert
form." Drafted by the banks, such a form is given to anyone who insists on
withdrawing large sums of cash at one time. The exact wording of these forms
varies; however each them briefly outlines the deceptive ways of the con artists.
To ensure that the customer actually reads the form, a signature line appears
below the following statement:
"I have read and understand the above statement. By signing this form, I direct
this financial institution to complete my request for a cash withdrawal."
This seemingly simple precaution produced immediate and impressive results.
Within two years time the incidence of successfully completed frauds decreased by
more than 80%. And, although confidence crime activity continues, the majority of
these offenses pertained to attempted rather than completed thefts.
Program Effectiveness
The only set back to the program's effectiveness came shortly after its
implementation. Once they learned of the special cash withdrawal forms, con
artists began forewarning their potential victims of their existence. Furthermore,
they told their victims that such forms were just a formality and that they were
to insist on withdrawing their cash. In many instances, mostly involving senior
citizens, the con artist would actually accompany the victim into the bank and
speak on their behalf.
To counteract this tactic, bank tellers were instructed to call on a bank
manager before processing any cash transaction that deviated from the customer's
normal banking patterns. Both bank personnel and police investigators believed
that even such a short delay would cause even the coolest of con artists to panic.
More importantly, the additional safeguards worked, and soon afterwards, the
program was underway at full strength.
As word of this program's effectiveness reached other jurisdictions, more and
more police departments adopted it. Today, Wisconsin, and Illinois, operate the
program statewide. With the assistance of each State's attorney general's office,
law enforcement personnel are trained on confidence crime recognition and
investigation techniques. The officers who receive this training then work with
their respective departments and local financial institutions.
A statewide confidence crime information network was also established so that
officers could forewarn other jurisdictions about active suspects and their
particular method of operation. This information is also shared with fraud
investigators nationwide
Conclusion
Because it is unlikely that confidence crimes will become extinct, law
enforcement must assess periodically the methods used in keeping these crimes to a
minimum. If not, then any recent gains in combating these crimes will eventually
be lost and give way to past practices of ignorance, both by police and the
public.
The program outlined in this article commits a relatively small amount of
agency resources in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. But, there are no
doubt many other similar programs just waiting to be discovered.
When searching for new ways to combat fraud, it is not important that they be
complicated or costly, only effective. Moreover, the success or failure to combat
the inimical activities of criminals not constrained by jurisdictional boundaries
depends entirely on a cooperative effort between the entire law enforcement
community. In other words, law enforcement needs to become just as creative and
organized as the criminals whose activities it hopes to curtail.
