Rip-Off: A Writer's Guide to Crimes of Deception (Howdunit)

From street level shell games to high stakes real estate swindles, professional PI Fay Faron profiles the con artists, the cons and the victims. Designed for authors who need the facts for realistic narrative, here is the lowdown on scams.'

Something tells us we would be naïve to believe this book would appeal solely to mystery writers. Detective Fay Faron, syndicated newspaper columnist ("Ask Rat Dog") and author of Missing Persons, has written a primer sure to turn any novice (writer, of course) into a scam expert. Rip-Off removes the mystery from such cons as the pigeon drop, Latin lotto, Gypsy-sweetheart scams, guaranteed-prize mailers, charity scams, bait-and-switches, biz-op scams, the Texas twist, identity theft, carny cons, chain letters, psychic hotlines, three-card monte, Ponzi schemes, 809 phone numbers, and gambling stings. Faron's writing advice focuses on identifying the basic traits of perps and pigeons (60 percent of pigeons are seniors, but we're all susceptible), defining the lingo (drag broad, shaky mom, mish roll, etc.), and counseling writers to "tell the story from the point of view of the victim." --Jane Steinberg