Don't Fall For It. Ben Carlson

      

Don't Fall for It

      A SHORT HISTORY OF

      FINANCIAL SCAMS

       Ben Carlson

      Cover Design: Wiley

      Cover Image: © Man_Half-tube/Getty Images

      Copyright © 2020 by Ben Carlson. All rights reserved.

      Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

      Published simultaneously in Canada.

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       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

      Names: Carlson, Benjamin Patrick, 1981- author.

      Title: Don't fall for it : a short history of financial scams / Benjamin

      Patrick Carlson.

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

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019032942 (print) | LCCN 2019032943 (ebook) | ISBN

      9781119605164 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119605195 (adobe pdf) | ISBN

      9781119605188 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Swindlers and swindling–Case studies. | Fraud–Case

      studies. | Financial crimes--Case studies.

      Classification: LCC HV6691 .C375 2020 (print) | LCC HV6691 (ebook) | DDC

      364.16/309--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032942

      LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019032943

      CONTENTS

      1  Cover

      2  Introduction

      3  Chapter 1 No One Sells Miracles Goats as Viagra? Radio The Placebo Effect Correlation Does Not Imply Causation Same as It Ever Was Notes

      4  Chapter 2 How to Sell Anything The Count Selling the Eiffel Tower Everyone Is in Sales Notes

      5  Chapter 3 Fast Money The Promise of Huge Returns with Minimal Effort When Trust Goes too Far Do Your Homework Notes

      6  Chapter 4 It’s the End of the World as We Know It Number of People in Extreme Poverty Fell by 137,000 Since Yesterday Notes

      7  Chapter 5 Sleight of Hand Bad Brad A Magician Reveals His Secrets Notes

      8  Chapter 6 When Success Doesn’t Translate Defeated by Decency Don’t Try to Get Rich Twice Notes

      9  Chapter 7 When Fraud Flourishes When There’s an ‘Expert’ with a Good Story When