Review of The Big Con

[Chinedum Chijioke]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Big Con" by Gini Graham Scott.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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The Big Con by Gini Graham Scott is a nonfiction book that exposes the process of book to film scams and other writing scams and how writers are also roped in to facilitate scam organisations without even knowing.

The book is divided into chapters that describe how the author was used to facilitate a couple of "Book to film scams" without her knowledge and how difficult it was to eventually realize that she was being scammed. The book also goes further to narrate conversations with other victims , their stories on how they fell for such scams from different companies and the amount of money the lost in the process. It also narrates her interaction with law enforcement on different occasions.

I loved that the author tried to take the readers through even the psychological aspect of these scams and how they seemed believable to her and other victims, how the scammers perfected their schemes and that even the most educated people could fall prey and instead of just narrating the story vaguely without extensive information. I liked that because, it then ensured that the book is "thoroughly educative" and can actually help individuals fish out scams and not fall prey to them. The book also contains samples of emails and texts from the different con artists and the replies from victims, it takes us through when and how they raised suspicion including the smart ways the scam companies tried to cover up and convince clients against their suspicions just like a movie would portray, and these increased my zeal to keep on reading and know what was next because it further made me believe that it is a book based on a true life event and not some fiction. The book gives insight to the internal processes of these illegal activities since the writer was somehow on the inside facilitating the process without her knowledge. It gives a glimpse of the divisions that occur due to greed and also briefly explains how accounts are created and funds transferred, how companies are registered seemingly legally to perpetuate these scams. The vivid explanation of the desperation of these illegitimate actors at some periods when they felt like they were being less convincing and close to being caught created a clearer picture of even the psychology of Fraudsters, thus equipping readers with some skills to identify them.

I did not dislike any aspect of the book. I will gladly rate it a FIVE OUT OF FIVE as I thought it was properly written and edited. The chapters are properly arranged such that the story from the beginning can be properly followed till the end.

I would recommend this to lovers of nonfiction, individuals who enjoy investigative journalism and documentaries on real life events.

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The Big Con
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[King Nyebuchi]

This is an exceptional review.
I like that the author focused on giving details of the scam ensuring the readers properly understood.

[Aisha Yakub]

I enjoy investigative journalism, so I believe this should be a great read for me. Your review was interesting, and I had a nice time reading it. Thank you for your feedback.

[Riya Sarkar]

I have never heard of such scams before, reading about this book has definitely shown some light about these scams. Thank you for the wonderful review.