FRANK ABAGNALE, a former con artist who turned into a respected authority on fraud detection and cybersecurity for the FBI, will be the featured speaker in this season’s seventh installment of the Lesher Foundation’s Newsmakers: Lesher Speaker Series at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek on Sept. 30.
Abagnale appeared in the inaugural season of the Lesher Speaker Series a decade ago. As part of this year’s milestone for the 20th Newsmakers, Steve Lesher, the Lesher Foundation board president and executive producer of the series, chose to bring back some favorite speakers from past years, which included Abagnale, said series producer Michael White.
“He has a very interesting and intriguing story, and his delivery makes you feel like he’s talking one-on-one to each audience member,” White said of Abagnale. “He’s memorable for sure, and we’re really excited to bring him back to our speaker series.”
Coming in with Abagnale, the Lesher series is helping a local nonprofit by raising awareness and connecting them with the community. The group associated with Abagnale’s event is Contra Costa Senior Legal Services, which offers free legal help to Contra Costa County residents age 60 and older, focusing on housing issues, financial security, and protecting seniors from physical, emotional and financial abuse.
Born on April 27, 1948, in Bronxville, New York (although some sources say the Bronx), Abagnale’s life took a swerve at the young age of 15 when he turned to a life of crime. Though he started with petty crimes, he later impersonated an airline pilot, cashed fraudulent checks while on the run, and spent time in prison. These events led Abagnale to write “Catch Me If You Can,” a partly fictionalized autobiography published in 1980. This book inspired the 2002 movie of the same name, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio as his young self and Tom Hanks as an FBI agent on his trail.
The movie brought Abagnale a measure of fame with appearances on TV shows such as “The Tonight Show” and “To Tell the Truth.” Though it was his criminal exploits and background that made his story very eye-catching, it was his subsequent work in cybersecurity and his continuing commitment to preventing fraud that ultimately cemented his legacy. The movie showed both sides.
His website includes a long list of accomplishments over the years and ends with a quote from Steven Spielberg, who directed the movie: “I did not make this film about Frank Abagnale because of what he did, but because of what he has done with his life the past 30 years.”
From fraudster to fraud-fighter
For the last four decades, Abagnale has been associated with the FBI. He has lectured at FBI field offices and the FBI Academy on fraud and cybercrime. He was the first-ever recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, presented by InfraGard, a partnership between the FBI and members of the private sector, honoring him for his work in fraud prevention and security.
Beyond the FBI, he has worked with more than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations and law enforcement agencies on how to use his fraud-prevention programs.
Lorenzo Craven, who went to school in Contra Costa County, has earned a Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate. Currently majoring in computer science at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Craven’s focus is on defending networks, devices and people from security threats. Although he didn’t know much about Abagnale beyond what was portrayed in the movie, he remarked on how Abagnale’s life provides valuable insights into both sides of cybercrime — how to commit fraud and how to prevent it.
“Perspective is everything,” Craven said. “If you know how the defenses work, then you know how to break (them). If you know how to break something, then you know how to increase the defense.”
Although Abagnale might not be the perfect role model for a student analyzing security risks, his life story still has many lessons to offer.
The Newsmakers: Lesher Speaker Series will take place in the Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale on the Lesher Center’s website.
Emma Mayta Canales is a 12th grader at Deer Valley High School in Antioch. This story was made possible by support from the Lesher Foundation, its Newsmakers speaker series, and the Bay City News Foundation. Stories are produced independently by the CCYJ news team. This story originally appeared in CCSpin.