In our season five premiere, we put Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (2002) under the microscope and compare it to the real-life story of Frank Abagnale Jr., the infamous con man whose wild exploits inspired the film. How much of Leonardo DiCaprio’s slick, globe-trotting portrayal matches reality, and how much is pure Hollywood invention? We dive into Abagnale’s early scams, his claims of passing as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer, and the FBI’s pursuit led by agent Joe Shea – the real counterpart to Tom Hanks’s character Carl Hanratty. We also examine how Abagnale reinvented himself after prison, becoming a security consultant, and question how reliable his own version of events really is. Was Frank Abagnale truly the “greatest con man of all time,” or has he been conning us all along?

Primary Sources:

• Logan, Alan. The Greatest Hoax on Earth: Catching the Truth While We Can. (2020).
• Frank Abagnale’s Website

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