Catch Me If You Can (book)

The book is loosely based on the life of Frank Abagnale, a con artist. It is written in the first person and describes how Abagnale cashed $2.5 million worth of bad checks. He assumed various jobs, such as pretending to be a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, a teacher, and an attorney. Abagnale was eventually caught by the FBI while living in France and served approximately five years in prison — six months in France, six months in Sweden, and four years in the United States. The book ends with an epilogue telling the story of Abagnale's final capture and his rehabilitation, which resulted in the creation of his security firm.

Frank W. Abagnale's parents discover his scheme to profit from a line of credit for auto work that was never done and car parts that were never sold. His father forgives him, but his mother sends him to boarding school for boys.

Between school terms, Frank is devastated when his parents decide to divorce. He runs away and takes up forging checks. He is easily mistaken for an adult, and uses this to his advantage by impersonating a 26-year-old in New York. Inspired when he sees smiling pilots and pretty stewardesses leaving a hotel, Frank does some research on airline work culture. After some time, he successfully fakes a pilot's license and lies his way into a warehouse to get a tailored uniform identifying him as first officer for a commercial airline. Frank begins passing himself off as a deadhead (a pilot riding along in cockpits on the way to scheduled takeoff points), conning his way into obtaining free air travel. He explores cities throughout the U.S. and stays well ahead of his expenses with increasingly innovative check fraud.

Eventually, Abagnale uses his profits to advance a year's worth of rent in the city of River Bend. He whimsically claims to be a doctor on his rental application. At his first opportunity, he forges physician's credentials to supplement his cover. At first, the local medical community members respect his preference not to work. However, when a position opens for head of a hospital, they insist Frank is the best temporary fit. Frank accepts the job and comes up with tricks to improve his facade. He forms a relationship with one Brenda Strong, but the romance is overshadowed by his fear that the FBI may be getting close to tracking him down. On one mortifying occasion, he is relieved that a tragedy is averted (no thanks to him) after he did not know what "blue baby" meant.

After relocating, Frank poses as an attorney and pretends to be a graduate of Harvard Law School. He is again implored to fill a job opening and has the hiring conditions finagled for him. One requirement is that he pass the state bar exam, which he manages to do without cheating on the third try.

When Frank resumes his pilot persona, he recruits his own fake airplane crew at a flight attendant school on pretense of needing advertising stills. As his confidence increases, so do the amounts on his forged checks.

At one point, investigators unwittingly have a face-to-face encounter with Frank. Keeping his cool, he flashes his wallet open and shut as if showing credentials, then acts like he is another member of law enforcement until he can make an inconspicuous exit from the scene. On another occasion, police have a chance to arrest Frank but lack grounds to do so for his known crimes. Instead, they invent a vagrancy charge and arrest him. Frank is bailed out by a bondsman who goes by the name "Bail-Out" Bailey. FIB Agent O'Riley arrives after Frank has departed and angrily informs Bailey that, having been paid by check, he has just become a fraud victim. Frank later takes measures to ensure that Bailey actually gets paid.

Meanwhile, Frank's wanderlust extends to international horizons. He forges a passport, then flies to France and explores other parts of Europe. One day while grocery shopping, Frank finds himself surrounded by police holding him at gunpoint. He has a moment of genuine mortal terror because they bark contradictory surrender commands at him, and he surrenders. He serves a long sentence at Perpignan's prison, aghast at the subhuman living conditions typical for inmates. Frank is later transferred to Sweden, where the prison system is much more livable. Frank is later extradited to North America. Frank escapes from the plane by unbolting the toilet. He is later arrested again, but convinces prison officials that he is a prison inspector and that he needs to be released to attend a meeting. He is arrested again in Canada and resolves to become a law-abiding person. He finally changes his life by offering his services (for free, at first) as a security consultant on a specialized lecture tour. He speaks to bank personnel, fully disclosing his forgery methods and ways to detect them. He goes on to found a real-life firm that has been famous ever since.