THEATRE HISTORY

Who Is The Cyber-Criminal?

In recent times, Nigerians have been tagged internet fraudsters or cyber-criminals. Sincere business proposals are turned down by potential business associates as soon as it is observed that the IP address originates from Nigeria.

In a country with purportedly the happiest people on earth, one of the most religious and stinking rich in human and natural resources, with its average citizen actually toiling it out daily to eke out, honestly in most cases, a living; it is a shocking but also an understandable allegation. Scam mails or any email’s origin can easily be identified through the internet protocol (IP) address. However, it takes two to tango. Rightly or wrongly tagged, Nigerians are just like the average earthling – faced with the vagaries of the reality of a nanosecond paced world. But how this has come to be is another matter entirely.

The internet arrived Nigeria quite late. As late as the late, late 90′s and the early 2000′s. Then, petty deception was the order of day just like in most countries especially in the western world. Naples, Italy, New York, USA, London, UK and many other locations had tales to tell of conmen and all that. Not much was heard of Cyber-crimes from anywhere near the shores of any African country since cyber-activites were virtually non-existent. No one drives a dream car without actually purchasing or owning it.

All of the earliest recorded histories of deception or conman-ship were never of Nigerian or even African dramatis personae, for that matter. According to well-informed chroniclers of this ignominious way of life, a confidence trick or confidence game (also known as a bunko, con, flim flam, gaffle, grift, hustle, scam, scheme, swindle or bamboozle) is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. The victim is known as the mark, the trickster is called a confidence man, con man, confidence trickster, or con artist, and any accomplices are known as shills.

Confidence men exploit human characteristics such as greed and dishonesty, and have victimized individuals from all walks of life conman is a person who intentionally misleads another person, usually for personal financial gain. In recent history there have been a number of conmen who have really stood out for either the wealth they amassed, or the ease with which they tricked people.

The record keepers reeled out a list of 10 of the most famous con men in recent history:

1. Frank Abagnale (born in 1948)

Frank Abagnale is a former cheque con artist, forger and imposter who, for five years in the 1960s, passed bad cheques worth more than $2.5 million in 26 countries. His nefarious acts inspired the shooting of the recent blockbuster film ‘Catch Me If You Can’. He began carving a fraudulent niche for himself as a youth when he used his father’s Mobil card to buy car parts that he would then sell back to the gas station for a lower price. Records have it that he did not realise that his father was the one who had to foot the bill and when he was eventually confronted with the fraud, his mother sent him for four months to a juvenile correction facility.

After moving to New York, Frank lived solely on the income of his fraudulent activities. One of his most famous tricks was to print his own account number on fake bank deposit slips so that when clients of the bank deposited money, it would actually go in to his account. By the time the banks realised what had happened, Frank had taken $40,000 and gone underground.

For about two years, Abagnale globe-trotted around the world for free by parading himself as a Pan Am pilot. He was able to abuse the professional courtesy of other airlines to provide free transport for competing airline pilots if they had to move to another city at short notice. Once he was nearly caught leaving a plane, but he changed his masquerade to that of a Doctor and he worked as a medical supervisor for 11 months without detection. Sometimes he worked as a lawyer and a teacher.

He was eventually caught in France and spent six months in prison there. After that he was extradited to Sweden and imprisoned for a further six months. After a successful escape whilst travelling to the United States, he was finally given 12 years in Prison. He escaped from his prison by masquerading as an undercover officer of the Bureau of Prisons. He was once again captured in New York City and returned to jail. After serving only five years of his sentence, the US Federal Government offered him his freedom in return for helping the government against fraud and scam artists without pay.

He currently runs Abagnale and Associates, a financial fraud consultancy company and is a multi-millionaire.

2. Charles Ponzi [Born: 1882; Died: 1949]

Ponzi, an Italian immigrant to the United States became one of the most famous con men in American history. While many people do not know the name Ponzi, the Ponzi Scheme is extremely well known and continues today in Internet Make Money Fast schemes. His early life is not entirely known as he was prone to fabricate stories about it. What is known is that he spent a short amount of time at University in Rome and, after dropping out, caught a boat to Boston, USA where he arrived with $2.50 in his pocket.

His early years in the United States were troublesome. He began working at a restaurant but was soon fired for playing tricks with the bills and shortchanging customers. His next job was working in a bank in Canada that catered for Italian immigrants. His knowledge of numbers helped him to do very well there. Unfortunately it turned out that the owner of the bank was stealing money from newly opened savings accounts to pay the interest on the interest bearing accounts and to cover bad investments. The bank owner eventually fled to Mexico and left Ponzi without a job. After writing a fraudulent cheque and spending a number of years in prison, Ponzi determined to become wealthy at any cost.

Once he had settled in to life on the outside, he discovered postal reply coupons through a letter that was sent to him from abroad. He realised that he could buy foreign coupons at massively devalued prices (because of price fixing after the war) and then resell them in the United States for a 400% profit. This was a form of arbitrage and it was legal. Ponzi began canvasses friends and acquaintances for money – promising them a 50% return or a doubling of their money in 90 days. He started his own company, the Securities Exchange Company, to promote the scheme.

The word of this great investment quickly spread and before long Ponzi was living in a luxurious mansion. He was bringing in cash at a fantastic rate, but the simplest financial analysis showed that he wasn’t making money, he was losing it rapidly. For every dollar he took in, he went more deeply into debt. As long as money kept flowing in, Ponzi would stay ahead of the eventual collapse.

People soon began to become suspicious and the press were starting to publish negative articles about him. Inevitably people were starting to demand their money. Shortly after, federal agents raided his office and shut it down. No stock of stamps was found and everyone that had invested their money with Ponzi lost every penny. It is probably that he lost tens of millions of dollars. Ponzi plead guilty of mail fraud and was sent to prison. After one escape he was returned to jail to complete his sentence. He was eventually deported back to Italy and he died there in poverty in 1949.

3. Joseph Weil [Born: 1877; Died: 1975]

Joseph “Yellow Kid” Weil was one of the most famous con men in his era. Over the course of his career he is believed to have stolen over 8 million dollars. In his first job as a collector, he realized that his co-workers were collecting their debts but keeping a little part of the money for themselves. Weil started a protection racket – offering not to report their activities in return for a small portion of what they were taking.

He also used phony oil deals, women, fixed races, and an endless list of other tricks to steal from an increasingly gullible public. He could change his persona daily to further his gains: one day he was Dr. Henri Reuel, a noted geologist who travelled around and told his hosts that he was a representative for a big oil company while draining them of the cash they gave him to “invest in fuel.” The next day he was director of the Elysium Development Company, promising land to innocent believers while robbing them in recording and abstract fees. Or he was a chemist par excellence, who had discovered how to copy dollar bills; promising to increase your fortune, he would multiply your bill’s then take the booty once the police arrived.

In his autobiography, Weil writes:

“The desire to get something for nothing has been very costly to many people who have dealt with me and with other con men,” Weil writes. “But I have found that this is the way it works. The average person, in my estimation, is ninety-nine per cent animal and one per cent human. The ninety-nine per cent that is animal causes very little trouble. But the one per cent that is human causes all our woes. When people learn — as I doubt they will — that they can’t get something for nothing, crime will diminish and we shall live in greater harmony.”

4. (Count) Victor Lustig [Born: 1890; Died: 1947]

Victor Lustig was renowned as the Man who Sold the Eiffel Tower. He was born in Bohemia but later moved to Paris where he was able to con people on his frequent journeys between Paris and New York. His first con was to show people a device that could print $100 bills. The only problem, he would tell them, is that it only prints one bill every six hours. Many people paid him enormous amounts of money (usually over $30,000) for the device. In fact, the device contained two real hidden $100 bills – once they were spat out by the machine it would produce only blank paper. By the time the buyers discovered this, Lustig was well gone with their money.

In 1925, as France was recovering from the war, the upkeep of the Eiffel tower was an almost unbearable expense for the city of Paris. When Lustig read about this in a paper, he came up with his most brilliant idea. After forging government credentials, he invited six scrap metal dealers to a secret meeting in a hotel. He explained that the City could not afford to keep the tower and that they had to sell it for scrap. He told them the secrecy of the meeting and all future dealings was due to the fact that the public may become distressed at the idea of the removal of the tower.

While it seems implausible, at the time the tower was built it was meant to be temporary and this happened just 18 years after the original date for removal of the tower. Lustig took the dealers in a limousine to tour the tower. One of the dealers, Andre Poisson was convinced that the tale was legitimate and he handed over the money. When he realised he had been conned, he was too embarrassed to tell the police and Lustig escaped with the money. One month later, he returned to Paris to try the whole scam again. This time it was reported to the police but Lustig managed to escape.

At one point, Lustig convinced Al Capone to invest $50,000 with him. He stored the money in a vault and returned it two months later, stating that the deal had fallen through. Capone, so impressed by Lustig’s honesty gave him $5,000 for his effort. In 1934, Lustig was found guilty of counterfeiting. He plead guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in Alcatraz. In 1947 he died of pneumonia whilst in jail in Springfield, Missouri.

5. George Parker [Born: 1870; Died: 1936]

Parker was one of the most audacious con men in American history. He made his living selling New York’s public landmarks to unwary tourists. His favorite object for sale was the Brooklyn Bridge, which he sold twice a week for years. He convinced his marks that they could make a fortune by controlling access to the roadway. More than once police had to remove naive buyers from the bridge as they tried to erect toll barriers.

Other public landmarks he sold included the original Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Grant’s Tomb, and the Statue of Liberty. George had many different methods for making his sales. When he sold Grant’s Tomb, he would often pose as the general’s grandson. He even set up a fake “office” to handle his real estate swindles. He produced impressive forged documents to prove that he was the legal owner of whatever property he was selling.

Parker was convicted of fraud three times. After his third conviction on December 17th, 1928 he was sentenced to a life term at Sing Sing Prison. He spent the last eight years of his life behind bars. He was popular among guards and fellow inmates who enjoyed hearing of his exploits. George is remembered as one of the most successful con men in the history of the United States, as well as one of history’s most talented hoaxers. His exploits have passed into popular culture, giving rise to phrases such as “and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you”, a popular way of expressing a belief that someone is gullible.

6. Soapy Smith [Born: 1860; Died: 1898]

Soapy Smith (born Jefferson Randolph Smith) was an American con artist and gangster who had a major hand in the organized criminal operations of Denver, Colorado, Creede, Colorado, and Skagway, Alaska from 1879 to 1898. He is perhaps the most famous “sure-thing” bunko man of the old west. Some time in the late 1870s or early 1880s, Smith began duping entire crowds with a ploy the Denver newspapers dubbed The Prize Package Soap Sell Swindle.

Jefferson would open his “tripe and keister” (display case on a tripod) on a busy street corner. Piling ordinary soap cakes onto the keister top, he would describe their wonders. As he spoke to the growing crowd of curious onlookers, he would pull out his wallet and begin wrapping paper money ranging from one dollar up to one hundred dollars, around a select few of the bars. He then finished each bar by wrapping plain paper around it to hide the money. He mixed the money-wrapped packages in with wrapped bars containing no money. He then sold the soap to the crowd for a dollar a cake.

A shill planted in the crowd would buy a bar, tear it open it, and loudly proclaim that he had won some money, waving it around for all to see. This performance had the desired effect of enticing the sale of the packages. More often than not, victims bought several bars before the sale was completed. Midway through the sale, Smith would announce that the hundred-dollar bill still remained in the pile, unpurchased. He then would auction off the remaining soap bars to the highest bidders.

Through the masterful art of manipulation and sleight-of-hand, the cakes of soap wrapped with money were hidden and replaced with packages holding no cash. It was assured that the only money “won” went to members of what became known as the “Soap Gang.” Soapy was eventually shot to death by a group he swindled in a card game.

7. Eduardo de Valfierno

Eduardo de Valfierno, who referred to himself as Marqués (marquis), was an Argentine con man who allegedly masterminded the theft of the Mona Lisa. Valfierno paid several men to steal the work of art from the Louvre, including museum employee Vincenzo Peruggia. On August 21, 1911 Peruggia hid the Mona Lisa under his coat and simply walked out the door.

Before the heist took place, Valfierno commissioned French art restorer and forger Yves Chaudron to make six copies of the Mona Lisa. The forgeries were then shipped to various parts of the world, readying them for the buyers he had lined up. Valfierno knew once the Mona Lisa was stolen it would be harder to smuggle copies past customs. After the heist the copies were delivered to their buyers, each thinking they had the original which had just been stolen for them. Because Valfierno just wanted to sell forgeries, he only needed the original Mona Lisa to disappear and never contacted Peruggia again after the crime. Eventually Peruggia was caught trying to sell the painting and it was returned to the Louvre in 1913.

8. James Hogue [Born: 1959]

Hogue is a US impostor who most famously entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan. In 1986 Hogue enrolled in a Palo Alto High School as Jay Mitchell Huntsman, a 16-year-old orphan from Nevada. He had adopted the identity of a dead infant. A suspicious local reporter exposed him. In 1988 Hogue enrolled at Princeton University using the alias Alexi Indris Santana, a self-taught orphan from Utah. He deferred admission for one year because he had been convicted of the theft of bicycle frames in Utah. Hogue claimed in his application materials that he had slept outside in the Grand Canyon, raising sheep and reading philosophers. He violated his parole to enter class. For the next two years he lived as Santana and as a member of the track team. He was also admitted into the Ivy Club.

In 1991 Hogue’s real identity was exposed when Renee Pacheco, a student from the Palo Alto High School, recognized him. He was arrested for defrauding the university for $30,000 in financial aid and sentenced to three years in jail with 5 years probation and 100 hours of community service.

On May 16, 1993 Hogue made headlines again through his association with Harvard University. Having lied about his identity again, he was able to take a job as a security guard in one of Harvard’s on campus museums. A few months into his tenure, museum officials noticed that several gemstones on exhibit had been replaced with inexpensive fakes. Somerville police seized Hogue in his home and charged him with grand larceny to the tune of $50,000.

On March 12, 2007 Hogue pleaded guilty to a single felony count of theft of more than $15,000 in exchange for a prison sentence not to exceed 10 years, and prosecutors’ agreement to drop other theft and habitual criminal charges.

9. Robert Hendy-Freegard [Born: 1971]

Robert Hendy-Freegard is a British barman, car salesman, conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent and fooled several people to go underground for fear of IRA assassination. He met his victims on social occasions or as customers in the pub or car dealership where he was working. He would reveal his “role” as an undercover agent for MI5, Special Branch or Scotland Yard working against the IRA. He would win them over, ask for money and make them do his bidding. He demanded that they cut off contact with family and friends, go through “loyalty tests” and live alone in poor conditions. He seduced five women, claiming that he wanted to marry them. Initially some of the victims refused to co-operate with the police because he had warned them that police would be double agents or MI5 agents performing another “loyalty test”.

Hendy-Freegard also seduced a newly married personal assistant who was taking care of his children. He told her he was with MI5 and forced her to cut contact with friends and family lest the IRA would kill her. He also took naked pictures of her and threatened to give them to her husband if she would not cooperate. She had to change her name and tell the deed poll officer it was because she was sexually abused as a child. Her loyalty tests included sleeping in Heathrow airport and on park benches for several nights and pretending to be a Jehovah’s Witness so that his bosses in MI5 would let them marry.

In 2002 Scotland Yard and the FBI organized a sting operation. First, the FBI bugged the phone of the American psychologist’s parents. Her mother told Hendy-Freegard she would hand over £10,000 but only in person. Hendy-Freegard met the mother in Heathrow airport where police apprehended him. He denied all charges and claimed they were part of a conspiracy against him and continued this story in the subsequent trial. On June 23, 2005, after an eight month trial, Blackfriars Crown Court convicted Robert Hendy-Freegard for two counts of kidnapping, 10 of theft and 8 of deception. On September 6, 2005 he was given a life sentence. Police doubt that they have discovered all the victims. On April 25, 2007, the BBC reported that Robert Hendy-Freegard had appealed against his kidnapping convictions and won. This means that the life sentence is revoked but he will still serve nine years for the other offences. He could be free by the end of 2007.

10. Bernard Cornfeld [Born: 1927; Died: 1995]

Bernard Cornfeld was a prominent businessman and international financier who sold investments in US mutual funds. He was born in Turkey. When he moved to the US, he first worked as a social worker but became a mutual fund salesman in the 1950s. Although he suffered from a stammer, he had a natural gift for selling and when a schoolfriend’s father died, the two of them used the $3,000 insurance money to purchase and run an age and weight guessing stand at the Coney Island funfair.

In the 1960s, Cornfeld formed his own mutual fund selling company, Investors Overseas Services (IOS), which he incorporated outside the US with funds in Canada and headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Although the headquarters were offcially in Geneva, the main operational offices of IOS were in Ferney-Voltaire, France, a short drive from the Swiss border to Geneva—this was simply a means of avoiding the problems of obtaining Swiss work-permits for the many employees. During the next ten years, IOS raised in excess of $2.5 billion, bringing Cornfeld a personal fortune of more than $100 million. Cornfeld himself became known for conspicuous consumption with lavish parties. Socially, he was generous and jovial.

A group of 300 IOS employees complained to the Swiss authorities that Cornfeld and his co-founders pocketed part of the proceeds of a share issue raised among employees in 1969. Consequently he was charged with fraud in 1973 by the Swiss authorities. When Cornfeld visited Geneva, Swiss authorities arrested him. He served 11 months in a Swiss jail before being freed on a bail surety of $600,000. He returned to Beverly Hills, living less ostentatiously than in his previous years. He developed an obsession for health foods and vitamins, renounced red meat and seldom drank alcohol. He suffered a stroke and died of a cerebral aneurysm on 27th February 1995 in London, England.

The great grandfather of all scammers in history is Bernard Madoff, mastermind of the largest investment scam. This report by Reuters is about his trial and conviction:

“Bernard Madoff was sentenced on Monday to 150 years in prison — the maximum penalty the judge could give him for “extraordinarily evil” crimes in Wall Street’s biggest and most brazen investment fraud”.

It goes:

“Fleeced investors in the courtroom cheered and applauded as the judge handed down the penalty.

Madoff, 71, stood passively with his hands clasped at his waist, showing no reaction when he heard the sentence that will send him to prison for the rest of his life.

The former nonexecutive chairman of the Nasdaq stock market has been jailed in a Manhattan cell since he pleaded guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury in March.

“Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil,” U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said in rejecting defense pleas for a lenient, 12-year sentence. “The breach of trust was massive.

“I simply do not get the sense that Mr. Madoff has done all that he could or told all that he knows.”

The gray-haired money manager was dressed in his signature dark gray suit, white shirt and tie instead of a prison jumpsuit.

The disgraced financier sat passively throughout the hour-and-a-half hearing as his victims called him a “beast,” an “animal” and a “lowlife.”

He apologized to them, at one point turning toward the 250 people in the courtroom.

“I will live with this pain, with this torment, for the rest of my life,” he calmly said. “I live in a tormented state knowing the pain and suffering I have created.”

Madoff, who has been accused of bilking investors worldwide out of as much as $65 billion, said, “In my business, when you make a trading error, you’re expected to make a trading error, it’s accepted. My error was much more serious. I made an error of judgment.”

CAUGHT OUT BY FINANCIAL CRISIS

Madoff’s December arrest came as investors were feeling the brunt of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression.

The case has triggered widespread criticism of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been accused of missing red flags that could have brought the curtain down on his asset management business.

It was not known where Madoff will serve his sentence for what prosecutors described as a worldwide fraud of small and wealthy investors, charities and financial institutions.

Judge Chin heard wrenching statements from nine of Madoff’s victims, some of whom said they had lost their life savings, were forced to sell their homes, or had to apply for government assistance to buy food.

“I only hope that his prison sentence is long enough so that his jail cell will become his coffin,” said Michael Schwartz, 33, who said his family had been robbed of savings earmarked for the care of his mentally disabled brother.

The White House said that the judge had sent a strong signal to those who handle other people’s money.

“My guess is that that message will be heard loud and clear,” said President Barack Obama’s spokesman Robert Gibbs.

Madoff was arrested in December after his two sons told authorities that he had confessed to them that his investment empire was a sham.

Prosecutors have said that Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities showed $65 billion in customer accounts weeks before his arrest, but the trustee winding down the firm has so far only been able to collect $1.2 billion to return to investors.

As much as $170 billion flowed through the principle Madoff account over decades. Madoff was symbolically ordered to pay that amount in restitution.

While a much lower sentence would have sent Madoff to prison for life, Chin said he deserved the maximum, typically handed down to organized crime bosses.

“The fraud here was staggering,” the judge said.

One law professor said she was surprised by the sentence but uncertain whether it would serve as a deterrent.

“I’d love to think that the mini-Madoffs out there would think that what happened today has something to do with them, but I suspect most of them do not,” said Jayne Barnard of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Madoff’s lawyer said no decision had been made on whether to appeal the sentence.

None of Madoff’s relatives came to court. They have not attended any of his prior court appearances.

The judge said he had not received a single letter on Madoff’s behalf, testifying to any good deeds or charitable works. “The absence of such support is telling,” Chin said.

Madoff’s wife Ruth, 68, has not been charged with any crimes but she has been vilified by defrauded investors, shunned by friends, and pursued by the media. Breaking her long silence, she said in a statement on Monday that she had been “betrayed and confused” by her husband’s scam.

“From the moment I learned from my husband that he had committed an enormous fraud, I have had two thoughts — first, that so many people who trusted him would be ruined financially and emotionally, and, second, that my life with the man I have known for over 50 years was over,” she said.

Madoff has said he acted alone. The only other person charged criminally is his outside accountant.

Madoff’s brother, Peter, and his sons, Mark and Andrew, were executives in his firm’s brokerage unit. They have said that they were not aware of or involved in the crooked asset management side.

Madoff and his wife have agreed to the sale of three luxury properties and other assets and valuables. Proceeds from asset sales will be distributed to defrauded investors.

Ruth Madoff will be left with $2.5 million, after forfeiting claim to some $80 million in assets including the couple’s Manhattan penthouse apartment.

Madoff told investors in the courtroom that he could offer no excuses, saying he tried to undo his crimes but “the harder I tried, the deeper a hole I dug for myself.”

Investors said the apologies left them cold.

“There’s something very pathological. He is still making excuses for himself,” said George Nierenberg, 57.

(Reporting by Grant McCool, Martha Graybow, Daniel Trotta, Mike Erman and Christine Kearney; Editing by John Wallace, Toni Reinhold)”

The scam stuff gets on our collective nerves so much that sincere business proposals don’t get a look-in by most foreign prospects once the IP address shows Nigeria: But one fact remains – victims of scams are either greedy, or gullible and commensurately criminally minded 2 fall 4 such schemes. The victim also willy-nilly by acceptance of the get-rich-quick proposals, perpetrates the crime as an unlikely (?) accomplice.

According to Wikipedia, “The first known usage of the term “confidence man” in English was in 1849; it was used by American press during the United States trial of William Thompson. Thompson chatted with strangers until he asked if they had the confidence to lend him their watches, whereupon he would walk off with the watch; he was captured when a victim recognized him on the street”.

The respected online encyclopedia further explains: “Confidence tricks exploit typical human qualities such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, honesty, compassion, credulity and naïveté. The common factor is that the mark relies on the good faith of the con artist. Just as there is no typical profile for swindlers, neither is there one for their victims. Virtually anyone can fall prey to fraudulent crimes.

Certainly victims of high-yield investment frauds may possess a level of greed which exceeds their caution as well as a willingness to believe what they want to believe. However, not all fraud victims are greedy, risk-taking, self-deceptive individuals looking to make a quick dollar. Nor are all fraud victims naïve, uneducated, or elderly. A greedy or dishonest mark may attempt to out-cheat the con artist, only to discover that he or she has been manipulated into losing from the very beginning. This is such a general principle in confidence tricks that there is a saying among con men that “you can’t cheat an honest man.”

The confidence trickster often works with one or more accomplices called shills, who help manipulate the mark into accepting the con man’s plan. In a traditional confidence trick, the mark is led to believe that he will be able to win money or some other prize by doing some task. The accomplices may pretend to be strangers who have benefited from performing the task in the past.

Wikipedia also listed its own record of World renowned con artists, some of them were mentioned in previous paragraphs above, and obviously none of them was Nigerian or even African for that matter:

Notable con artists

Born in the 18th century

Gregor MacGregor (1786–1845) – Scottish conman who tried to attract investment and settlers for a non-existent country of Poyais.

Born or active in the 19th century

Lou Blonger (1849–1924) – organized massive ring of con men in Denver in early 1900s.

Helga de la Brache (1817-1885)

Horace de Vere Cole (1881–1936)

Canada Bill Jones – riverboat gambler and card sharp

Victor Lustig (1890–1947) – born in Bohemia (today’s Czech Republic) and known as “the man who sold the Eiffel Tower”.

George C. Parker (1870–1936) — U.S. con man who sold New York monuments to tourists.

Charles Ponzi (1882–1949) – “Ponzi scheme” is a “get rich fast” fraud named after him.

Death Valley Scotty (1872–1954) prospector, performer, and con man, famous for gold mining scams and the mansion in Death Valley known as Scotty’s Castle.

Soapy Smith (1860–1898) — confidence gang boss, who operated in Denver, Colorado; Creede, Colorado; and Skagway, Alaska

William Thompson (active in 1840–1849) – U.S. criminal whose deceptions caused the term confidence man to be coined.

Joseph Weil (1875–1976) – one of the most famous American con men of his era.

Cassie Chadwick (1857–1907) — defrauded several U.S. banks out of millions of dollars by claiming to be an illegitimate daughter and heiress of Andrew Carnegie.

Born or active in the 20th century

Bernie Cornfeld (1927–1995) – ran the Investors Overseas Service, alleged to be a Ponzi scheme.

Richard Eaton (1937–1979) – con artist, saloon owner, and general manager of Moo Moo Vedda’s dress factory and an associate of the Lucchese crime family.

David Hampton (1964–2003) – Inspiration for the play and film Six Degrees of Separation

Konrad Kujau (1938–2000) – German forger of the supposed Hitler Diaries.

Eduardo de Valfierno – Argentine conman who allegedly masterminded the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911.

Living people

Frank Abagnale (1948) — U.S. cheque forger and impostor; his autobiography, Catch Me If You Can, was made into a movie.

Peter Foster (1962) — Australian conman with convictions and imprisonment on three continents for fraud and money laundering, known for the Bai Lin slimming tea scam and involvement in property transactions with Cherie Blair.

Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter (1961) — Bavarian-born con artist who, for nearly two decades, claimed to be a member of the wealthy Rockefeller family.

Robert Hendy-Freegard (1971) — Briton who kidnapped people by impersonating an MI5 agent and conned them out of money.

James Arthur Hogue (1959) — U.S. impostor who most famously entered Princeton University by posing as a self-taught orphan.

Clifford Irving (1930) — U.S. writer, best known for a false “authorized autobiography” of Howard Hughes.

Samuel Israel III (1959) — Ran the former fraudulent Bayou Hedge Fund Group; faked suicide.

Bon Levi (1943) — Aka Ron the Con and Ronald Frederick. Arguably Australia’s most notorious conman who tricked Australian and U.S. citizens into investing in scam franchise businesses. He has been jailed both in Australia and the United States.

Bernard Lawrence Madoff (1938) — American former chairman of the NASDAQ stock market who admitted running a world-record $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Headed the hedge fund Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC until his arrest in 2008. In March 2009 he pled guilty to 11 federal crimes.

Matt the Knife (1981) — American-born card cheat and pickpocket who bilked corporations, casinos, and at least one Mafia crime family.

Barry Minkow (1967) — American entrepreneur. His company, ZZZZ Best, cost investors an estimated $100 million before he served seven years in prison for fraud and other offenses.

Semion Mogilevich (1946) — is a billionaire organized crime boss and a global con artist believed by European and United States federal law enforcement agencies to be the “boss of bosses” of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world.

Lou Pearlman (1954) — U.S. businessman and manager of boy bands, sentenced to 25 years for operating a Ponzi investment scheme.

Casey Serin (1982) — Self-confessed mortgage fraudster who became the “poster child” of the housing bubble.

Solomon Dwek (c.1973) Syrian-Jewish Orthodox rabbi and real estate investor from Deal, New Jersey who pleaded guilty to a $50,000,000 bank fraud involving PNC Bank.

Michael Sabo (1945) Best known for his history as a check, stocks and bonds forger. He became notorious in the 1960s and throughout the 1990s as a “Great Impostor”, and was featured on national TV, had over 100 aliases, and earned millions.

With the foregoing, it will be unreasonable to stigmatise Nigerians for the criminal enculturation by the western world in almost virtually every aspect of contemporary life. Western movies bring into Nigerian and African homes all sorts of immoralities hitherto alien to them. People wear three-piece suits in hot weather and recently lots of scammers have started using Religion to actualise their scamming thought-processes. Well it is not a surprise to yours truly as Jesus already warned us two millennia ago that “in the last days, many shall come to deceive many in my name”. Now we are seeing the many, and most of them are not Nigerians. But why treat them with such ignominy?

As noted earlier, the internet and mobile technology arrived these shores the late 90′s. Before then, western deceivers continued to cheat people through various schemes and were not as maligned as Nigerians. They hacked computer systems with viruses and did other untoward things against humanity. 95% of Nigerians do not have access to the internet but we hear of mind-boggling internet fraud schemes being attributed to Nigerians.

Many of such emails are also sent to most of us (Nigerians) but we ignore them without batting an eyelid.

For instance, you get a scam mail saying you just won the sweepstakes and blah blah blah. You knew you never played any game and you fall for it. That’s greed and trying to reap where one did not sow. Or someone sends a mail saying someone else died and left money in a fictitious bank account and needs your help to get it out into yours. I wouldn’t buy that idea for half a cent because I am not greedy. In my little research I found out that these scam schemes are actually inherited from the western world itself. Its just like the back-to-sender syndrome. What is more, we hear these days of the Madoffs of this world whose loot alone surpassed the entire loot of the so-called Nigerian scam artists. 0.001% of Nigerians unlike most parts of the Western world are actually involved in it in any way. Their ability to send bulk mail to millions at the touch of button does not make the average Nigerian a scammer much as the singular act of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s action on Christmas Day 2009 does not make all Nigerians terrorists or suicide bombers.

The real, average Nigerian is hardworking and strives daily to earn his keep. The world in most cases thinks of people and places they’ve never been as a representation of what they get from their news sources.

My advise to scam-phobics is simple: Never attempt to get into a building through the windows when the door is wide open. Greed and selfishness is a sine-qua-non for being a scam victim.

I rest my case for now.

PS

This testimony about the real Nigerian was inboxed to me by a Caucasian American, and one of my friends on Facebook:

15 March at 14:54
Hi Henry – Thanks for telling me about the fan page. Yes, I know and understand that – it is a shame that some have not known any Nigerians and have wrong/ignorant assumtions about them. There are swindlers and hustlers from everywhere, and we are to pray for the Lord’s protection from such evil people. I have been used and scammed in person by people in real life, even just recently here in Montana, and none of them were ever Nigerians.

I used to live in southern California and my son had a medical emergency. In order to pay for it I had to refinance the house my mom had just left me as she had just died. I called every mortgage company I could find. I lived in Orange County (I hated it there, was not originally from there- nasty people) and I called companies in Los Angeles, and Ventura counties as well. Any companies I could find. I had just declared bankruptcy.

Finally, I reached a company in Thousand Oaks, CA. They all had British accents. They were the only company out of thousands who would help me. To help me they had to trust me. They were also Christians. I shared with them the condition of my son, and also that the Children’s Services were threatening to take my kids away because I could not find a doctor who knew how to work on him – he had/has a very rare condition (that is how we ended up in Montana).

They refiananced my home. I had to pay 6 thousand dollars to an attorney just to keep my son at home. It was ridiculous Henry as his problem was with his knee and their main complaint was that he was overweight. It was not life threatening in anyway and I had already taken him to 10 different doctors and had the proof!

Then they refinanced it again!! They said it would not be easy as with my bankruptcy, and already having a loan on it, they would have to find a private party. I pleaded with them and told them my case and what was happening with my son. He shared with me that they were Christians also.

Everyone in the office was so kind to me. They all said they were praying for me and my children.

I finally sold the home as the only surgeon I could find who knew how to work on my son was up here in Montana.

On my way out of California, I drove by their office. I wanted to thank them in person for all they had done for us. Their trust and kindness kept my family together. They were also very fair with their rates and business dealings.

I stopped and went in, and was so surprised they were all from Africa, from Nigeria. They had been educated in England. And the owner’s wife to this day remains the most beautiful African woman I have ever seen in my life. She was wearing tradtitional Nigerian clothing.

Henry, those people were my angels here on this earth. My parents were passed on from cancer, my brother was a drug addict (he is clean now and has found the Lord, praise God), my husband ran off to be a bum on a train (true story) and his family, who were wealthy, did not care if my children were dead or alive.
These Nigerians saved my family – my children – the most precious thing on the face of this earth to me. I will never, ever, ever forget what they did for me and my children. I am so grateful to God for them.

Also, i have met wonderful Nigerian people here on facebook.

Thanks for hearing this story. God Bless you!!
Sincerely,

(Name withheld)

About the Author

Born on November 24 1965 in Lagos, Nigeria. Graduated with a B.Sc (Honours) degree in Psychology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1991. Has had stints in management and construction. Currently involved in Oil and Gas Consultancy

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An Interview With Dr. Damon, Pres. of the Ngh

Cal: Hello everybody, this is Cal Banyan. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whenever and wherever you are. Thanks for calling in live and thanks for listening to the recording of the Meet the Pros Program. We bring some of the biggest names in the profession, to give you free seminars of the topic hypnosis. I’m so glad to have all of you here today and especially glad to have our guest. The Meet the Pros program can be found on www.hypnosis.org where we organize hypnosis information to you.

I want to introduce one of our most special guests we’ve ever, ever had on the program, I want to introduce Dr. Dwight Damon, who is certainly one of my great heroes and mentors in the profession of hypnotism. Dr. Damon has been a powerful source of positive change, not only in the profession of hypnotism but also in his community and now around the world. He served his country as a US Coast guard, he’s been a member of many humanitarian fraternal organizations, he’s been recognized by many of these organizations and the US government as a leader. I’ve seen his office and many, many of his awards and recognitions that he’s collected over the years.

As the founder and leader of The Nation Guild of Hypnotists, Dr. Damon has a methodically built hypnosis and hypnotism into a distinct and respectable profession. Dr. Damon has spent a half century amassing a membership of around thousand hypnotists and has being a leading force in setting meaningful and professional standards and ethics. The leading force behind providing an opportunity for professional hypnotists to affiliate with the AFLCIL the hypnotist union and he’s established two professional publications as well as a consumer magazine of hypnosis. The profession publications being The Hypno-Gram and the Journal of Hypnotism and the consumer publication is the Hypnosis Today Magazine

.

As the president of the NGH he ensures the holding of the annual conference for the NGH members every year and this is but a partial list of accomplishments in Hypnotism that he has attained. He has also been a success in the entertainment industry and gosh, I could just go on and on, on the internet looking for information about Dr. Damon, he’s accomplished all this and hypnotists around the world are greatly in his debt – especially and including myself. The development of hypnotism as a distinct profession did not happen on its own and the credit belongs primarily to the doc – as I call him, Dr. Dwight Damon. I’ve heard it said, rightly so that Dr. Dwight Damon is the founding father of hypnosis as a distinct profession.

Welcome Doc to the Meet the Pros Free Seminar Program. Thanks for taking the time for the call and be in the seminar, I bet things are really busy for you now at NGH headquarters.

Dr. Damon: They are but I’m still writing, I mean that was a good introduction, thank you. A very kind introduction Cal and I’m not the only founder – I’m one of the founders of The Guild. We were, a group of men back then, the funny thing is – way back then there weren’t any women that were interested in our profession and so really it was a bunch of men in Boston, Massachusetts that decided The Journal.  Under the mentorship of Dr. Rexford L. North. And, there are some of us that are still active in The Guild, Maurice Kershaw up in Canada; Dr. John Hughes from out in Las Vegas and Arnold Levison; come to mind the rest of our little group have sadly gone on hypnosis convention in the sky, you might say?

Cal: How did you happen to, I’m kind of a chronological systematic kind of guy and I wondered if you could give the students in here and the audience, a background on how you got into hypnotism in the first place?

Dr. Damon: Sure I’ll be glad to. Originally when I was growing up, my parents owned a theatrical agency and I got to meet all sorts of different entertainers and I was intrigued with magic, as a lot of young people are, when they get their first magic set for Christmas and so forth. But I had the privilege of meeting the professionals that were well known in the field. So I just gravitated to that and when I was 12 or 13 years old I was working professionally as a magician and doing all right and it didn’t hurt having my family booking acts at the entertainment agency, they certainly took care of things and also introduced me to a lot more agents in the Boston area and of course I still needed the education as they didn’t want me just to go into show business.

I was attending college in Boston and this was a while ago, and I was on my way to a Rush meeting for a Phi Alpha Tau fraternity and I was walking along and I saw a little poster it said ‘Learn Genuine Hypnotism, Hypnotize Yourself and Others’. I thought ‘genuine hypnotism’ and I had purchase a book a couple of years before, where I was in Christian Academy and this was Leitner’s book on Hypnotism. And I had read the book early and used the book as my guide in trying to hypnotize other students and faculty members and I was successful to a small degree.

I really did not understand that you could not learn from a book and I’m still of the opinion you can’t learn from distance learning videos and so forth. I want hands on training. But when I saw this poster it was a free lecture demonstration and it just happen to be on the way to this particular place I was going. So I went and there was a gentleman who presented a lecture demonstration actually showed us how to hypnotize other people gave a little talk and mentioned he was starting a course in Boston. Back in those days the entire course of instructions was ten lessons and the cost was $50 and $50 was a lot more money than it is now. I called home and talk to my dad and told him I wanted to take an extracurricular course and he said ‘What is it?’ and I said ‘Well it’s just one of these psychology things and he said ‘No, what is it?’ he knew me better than I thought and I said ‘It’s a course in hypnotism’ and he thought well that would go well with what I had done with the magic…

Cal: You were thinking more of the lines of doing stage hypnosis?

Dr. Damon: Yes, and he said ok and provided me with the $50.00 and I took the course. And then we came out of the 10 lessons, when you graduate you are confident and competent and that’s the line I used with our certified instructors – I want them to turn out graduates who are confident and competent. When we finish this course with Dr. North, we could hypnotize people, because we have been doing it. The head of psychiatry, at Mass General was in the course with me and there were a few other older gentlemen that were profession people of various types. They weren’t interested in the stage magic, stage hypnotism, but there were three of us that were. So it became part of my repertoire and then I don’t know I just seem to hit it off with Dr. North and I was attending college in Boston and the first thing, you know I was working at the Hypnotism Center and we had quite a large center which also included an apartment and so the next thing you know, I was working and living there and had decided that was more exciting than going to college.

Cal:

Wow.

Dr. Damon: I was doing that and that’s when we got in doing the Journal of Hypnotism and The Guild. Back in those days there wasn’t anything of that type and Harry Arons, who was a very well known name in New Jersey, publisher and teacher in the field, said: you know, a club like that isn’t going ever go and a magazine – you’re wasting postage money. But he did let us borrow his mailing list combined with ours and it was success. He stayed with us for a while as an associated editor and wrote a regular column, but just like anything else, pretty soon he was sorry he had given us the list. When he saw it was going to be a success so he spun off and he spun off and started American Association of Ethical to Advance Ethical Hypnosis (AEH). He had a very good idea; he said well I’m only going to teach licensed health professionals, he later expanded that, at the same time, there were other people doing just strictly that type of instruction. But at The Hypnotism Center in Boston, we taught anybody at all that was interested. In the early days of the Guild, 95% of us were either stage hypnotists or just people who were interested, you might want to say hobbyists, they were interested in hypnotism and maybe 5% were, or could be considered professional hypnotherapists.

Cal: Dr. Damon can you give the audience an idea of when that was?  Was it around 1950? 1951?

Dr. Damon: Exactly ’49, ’50 in that range, but staying away from that. Of course I was very young, I was about 5 years old then (laughs). But yes it was that long ago 57 years to be exact. In 1950 we started talking about forming The Guild. We didn’t know what we were going to call it but forming an organization at that time. We formally did in it the spring of 1951, and we had already been holding regular meetings in Boston and that was Chapter Number One. Chapter Number Two was in New York City and then it just grew from there. Through the years it grew and then Dr. North disappeared mysteriously and we still to this day are not sure about what happened to him, we’ve heard all sorts of rumors and stories and so forth and those of us, who were really active at the time – we had gone on to other things, we had families to raise and we were either in college or studying professions or businesses and The Guild just sort of putted along we stayed in touch. But we didn’t really experience any growth.

Want me to keep going?

Cal: You’ve got me hypnotized here, I’m just at Chapter two, and I’m just hanging on ever word…

Dr. Damon: Chapter two, when I went out Iowa, after being in the service and being in the service was great being a stage hypnotists because everywhere I went I didn’t need to have any props and anywhere our ship went in, I was always asked to come over to the NCO club or The Officers Clubs and do a show and I even got paid for it – which was unusual. Also did USO shows where there were centers and they knew I was around. So it was really good – I kept my hand in. In boot camp we were out in the afternoon, physically education drills were used, they think of all these things you can do to beat each other up, build team effort, that type of thing…

Cal: Yes…

Dr. Damon: Somebody came out and said the chaplain wanted to see Damon.  Usually that meant there was someone in the family that had died or something. So in went over and the chaplain said ‘I saw the show last night’, we did a talent show in the big hanger there and of course, I did hypnotism and he says ‘I saw the show last night, are you related to Dwight Damon in The National Guild and the Journal of Hypnotism? and I said ‘I am Dwight Damon’ and he said ‘you’re Dwight Damon? You have edited some of my stuff’ and he told me his name and sure enough I had.

Cal: Wow.

Dr. Damon: Well I thought, this is certainly fortuitous and he said ‘I tell you what, you shouldn’t be out there getting beat up and all that and that physically education stuff. You could come here every afternoon and we could talk hypnotism’. And I thought that’s ok with me. And so then I was appointed chaplain assistant and that’s the only thing I’ve assisted in and then he said ‘you know if you want to work with people in the office here, you can do that in the evening, I’ll let you use my office. The only catch is, I want to be here so I can see what you do’. And ‘I said sure that’s fine too.’ So we did we had several cases, we had one of the physical education tests you have to pass – you have to climb a 50 foot rope, you know, hand over hand. If you’ve never done that before it’s kind of impossible to learn on the spot, if you didn’t pass that particular test then you went to Ex company and they give you another few weeks to try otherwise you’re out…

Cal: This was some remedial training huh?

Dr. Damon: Yeah, I suppose they figured, you might have to abandon ship or something. I don’t know I’ve never climbed the rope after that. Our company yeoman was at a point where there were going to give him one more chance and he said ‘Why don’t you hypnotize me?’ I said ‘Sure’. So we went over to the chaplains office that evening and I used direct suggestion, you know, ‘You’re going to get up in the morning and the first thing you think about is your going to down climb that rope and you’re going to go right hand over, hand and you’re just no problem if you go up or if you go down’ and I really built it up.

I woke up the next morning and he wanted to go right then, so we appointed a couple of fellows to keep an eye on him because we didn’t want him just going down there when he wasn’t supposed to go. When we got down to the gym for Phys Ed, the Drill Instructor said ‘Ok fatty, you go first’ and he went out, went up the rope, came back down and went up again and the drill instructor got really angry because he thought he’d been kidding all the time he couldn’t climb the rope. Luckily the chaplain was there and he squared everything away for the past. And the Drill Instructor calmed down and the chaplain went to the Base Commander and said that he had a connection with Life Magazine and he would like them to come and do a story about that; the modern East Indian rope trick.

Cal:

Wow.

Dr. Damon: Which would have been a great break and the coastguard commander said now, that would be too carnival -istic for the service. So we didn’t get that break. A lot of interesting things happened you make contacts and they are amazing that one person who had sent in articles for The Journal and yes I had edited them, and knew my name and it just worked together. That was the early days for me.

Cal: See I thought I had heard all of your stories. That’s a new one on me. That’s great.

Dr. Damon: That’s a C story.

Cal: Good, that’s a really cool history. I really want to get to asking you about the big idea. I hear you talking about that and I really want to help get the word out on that. What exactly do you mean when you talk about the big idea?

Dr. Damon: Well for years I’ve been saying we have to have a big idea of it, establishing a separate and distinct profession. I had gone after being in the service; I had gone back to college, gone out to Davenport, Iowa, to Chiropractic College to get my doctorate and went into practice. In those days  we I graduated, there were still unlicensed states for chiropractors, maybe 3 or 4 – Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York maybe one other one.

But it was a very tough time even though chiropractic had being very prominently accepted for many, many years it still was a turf war. The physicians did not want us practicing. So I got involved again in publishing just in our state newsletter for our Chiropractic Association. But it gave me a chance to see what was going on in trying to establish the profession.

So, when we decided to bring back The Guild and build it just from a small group of people who were just keeping in touch and not really growing, and we’re now in the age of computers and Elsom Eldridge. He had The Achievement Center in Manchester, New Hampshire. Elsen had been a boyhood friend who learned a lot about magic and hypnotism from me as we were growing up. He took me up to see his Achievement Centre and showed me their computer room and even though I’d been on radio, I didn’t know anything about computers, but we could see the potential. We had lunch and we were talking about, we said ‘Wow’, The Guild could use this to get out to people and so that’s what we did.

The idea was need to establish this as a profession. We don’t just want to be stage hypnotists; we have something to offer the public. I was using hypnosis in my practice as a licensed chiropractor. I wasn’t accepting anybody outside because I had a busy practice but for my regular chiropractic patients, yes fine. ‘Oh you have Agoraphobia? Oh we’ll take care of that while you’re here’.

So it was really kind of fun to be able to use the two. People in town, I was in, saw that neither one I was in tried to kill anybody, so I did get a lot of patients coming in. But they all waited at first. ‘Wow he’s a chiropractor now and a hypnotist and remember, he used to be a magician, so they’re a little bit odd by that.

Our goal is to establish a distinct and separate profession and all of a sudden, I think you were there Cal, in Las Vegas and it dawned on me – we were already there, we had already established this profession, we finally have made it were not just admitting it – just not sure of it.  So that’s when I said: We are now are a profession…

Cal: Right…

Dr. Damon: Now we have to build on it. Now we have to be professional in what we do and how we dress and how we speak and we have to try as many of our people, who are practicing to practice professionally and build the profession. We are recognized now. I will give you an example of why we can say this. There was a convention of psychologists, and a Head of Division Thirty, which is a committee or group that deals with hypnotherapy; Cal, you know about it?

Cal: Yes…

Dr. Damon: The head of that group, well I won’t mention his name, since this is going on the Internet. Well he got up, in New Orleans in their meeting and outlined what we called The Master Plan, to wipe out what they called “Lay Hypnotists”. And believe me it was a master plan.

Unbenounced to him, quite a few people who were attending that meeting- licensed psychologists and psychiatrists and so forth, who were also members of The Guild. It didn’t take me very long to have a recording and a transcript of exactly what he had in mind for us in his master plan.

So we tried to enlist the aid of other groups to help us combating this. I remember calling AEH, the president at that time, Harry Arons, (he is no longer president) and he said ‘Gee, I’d like to help you Dr. Damon, but you know the thing is, I’d have to hold a committee meeting and I’ve got members from all over the country and the good thing about The Guild is I belong to that too, he said, You can make a  decision and you can go for it and by the time you go for it, you’ll probably have everything done. So we said, we’ll do it ourselves and we did. Recently I saw a correspondent to the ad on the Internet; someone sent it to me, in which there is no use trying to get rid of them anymore because they have money, they have power they have the union and they’re pretty well established…

Cal: Oh…

Dr. Damon: So we’re not going to get rid of them, what we need to do is control them though -control them by getting the demands for the types of education. So you see they know, that we are here to stay – they’re recognizing us as a professional entity.

Cal: You know, I have written articles and done talks on completely rejecting the label of “Lay Hypnotists”. If you go into the dictionary, any dictionary you want ‘Lay’ means untrained. And a National Guild of Hypnotists, Certified Hypnotists or Consulting Hypnotists or Hypnotherapists, whatever label they are using has got as much or more training than your average ‘Professional’, Doctor or Psychologists out there, that are practicing hypnosis.

Dr. Damon: There’s nothing that uniquely qualifies any other health professional then being a hypnotists…

Cal: That’s right…

Dr. Damon: I mean they may get a day and then they get a couple of days of discussion of hypnotism and that’s it.

Cal: That’s right.

Dr. Damon: Maurice Kershaw was teaching pre med and pre dental students up in Canada for many, many years. An effective course I believe, An Introduction into Hypnotism, but I don’t know of any place else that do get any type of training. So no, to call us Lay Hypnotists that’s a misnomer. In your dreams, that’s what I say, as far as they’re concerned.

Cal: That’s really the hobby hypnotists…

Dr. Damon:

Yes, …

Cal: I think of them as Lay Hypnotists.

Dr. Damon: And we don’t have as many hobbyists anymore, for some reason, I don’t know, I guess…

Cal: Not in The Guild anyway…

Dr. Damon: No and the other great thing is that mentioned before, it was all men and the really great thing is the influx of women into the field. This is wonderful because women seem to take to being professional hypnotists and consulting hypnotists. Most women have a really good talent for it and I don’t know what the exact percentages of membership in The Guild, but I would say its maybe 50% of more. Probably more…

Cal: Yes probably. You know in most of the helping professions like a few years ago it was documented that in psychology, the shift is really gone to more women in graduated schools for psychology, counseling, social work, then men. So that’s just a natural thing we would see in The Guild.

Dr. Damon: Well it probably sounds sexist just to say they’re better equipped for this, but I think by nature a woman is perhaps, has a unique talent- a naturally born talent. God said Whoa, you’re out there to nurture people and help people and that goes along with what we do.

Cal: Beautiful. Hey let me ask you something Doc. As we are becoming more and more accepted, the chiropractors they start off and over time they establish themselves as a profession and other professionals started referring them. Do you really believe that our profession can become as accepted as other health professions?

Dr. Damon: Yes I do. We have look back and say ‘Hey wait a minute, there wasn’t too many, many years ago that the dentist were cutting hair and pulling teeth in the same chair’. That’s why the barber poles are red and white – signifying the blood for pulling teeth. I don’t know if it was the grandfather or the great-grandfather, probably the great-grandfather in the present Mayo brothers, who was a doctor simply by the fact that he rode around curing people and taking care of people when they were sick, so he began to be called, “Doc Mayo”. If somebody else wanted to learn how to be a doctor in those days, he would ride around with the doc and so they learned how to deliver babies, how to set bones and so forth – and they became a doctor. Then, it was right into the mid 1900’s, early 1900’s; probably 1918 I think it was around that time, when you still could go to night school to be an MD. That wasn’t too long ago and all of them have had to grow as professionals. That’s the same thing we’re doing, were growing and so our educational requirements will grow along with us.

Cal: So what kind of strategies do we have to put in place?  I know we have The Code of Ethics and Standard of…Take it from there…

Dr. Damon: Well we have The Code of Ethics and The Standards of Practice. We have our own professional language which is very necessary. For example, now chiropractors we at a certain period of time we weren’t diagnosing, and we didn’t use that term and what we gave it wasn’t a treatment – we were adjusting the patient. So we have our own language as consulting hypnotists that we want to use. This is manly to keep us out, of … getting into problems with health professional and using terms that could be construed as medical terms that are in the DSM and so we want to be careful not to be using, for psychological language,  for example ‘phobias’.  And, we have all of our new graduates receive this information and Scott Giles has worked very hard to present the different terms that could be used and we are anxious for people to do that. It means the same thing, if a patient comes in to us it’s actually a client, and we don’t necessarily diagnose them, we help them to goal set their problems or their challenges.

We suggest ways to do that, we don’t treat them, we don’t prescribe solutions, we suggest ways for them, because you know we’re very fond of saying: Well all hypnosis is self hypnosis. Well if that’s the case we’re acting as guides to help that person, to help achieve the self hypnotic state to change whatever they want to change. This is what we have to be careful of, staying within the line, coloring within the lines. And they say why should so be afraid of the other? I know there are some people out there say ‘Oh yeah I should be able to do what I want, we’re constricting ourselves by not doing what we want’. Well I don’t agree with that…

Cal: You know…

Dr. Damon: That’s my opinion…

Cal: Since we’re not diagnosing, we’re not saying, see a diagnose has only one purpose and that is to determine treatment and in order to do that, they have to say ‘Hey here’s something that wrong with you medically’ and since we’re not saying there’s something wrong with you medically then, I’ve been persuaded over the years to move away from the term therapists. Because this term therapists means there’s something wrong with you and you need therapy. Really we’re more of an Educator or a Consultant is that right?

Dr. Damon: That’s really why I like the term Consulting Hypnotists and I know at first, it’s very hard for people to accept this line when I introduced it to the convention a couple of years ago. But Consulting Hypnotists, it’s not infringing on anybody, there’s nobody out there that can say ‘Oh you shouldn’t be using that’ and just last year up in Ontario, Canada the psychotherapist to pass legislation from people from being hypnotherapists. And the hypnotherapists didn’t want to give up the right to be a hypnotherapists but, it looked like there were going to be laws passed, so we had to ask the union and Scot Giles jumped on his white horse to go to battle again and we had a lot of help from the OPEIU, which is the mother union we belong to and The Nation Federation of Hypnotists, which is our union, and the only union is chartered to cover the entire country and Canada. They were able to put a damper on all of this by getting lobbyist to work on it for us.

Cal: Just for a second, how can hypnotist learn more, I’m a member of the union, how can hypnotists learn more about the union? Is there a website? Is there a link on The Guild’s website?

Dr. Damon: Yes, well the best way is, you see now you’re getting into the internet stuff and you know me. I told you I was a radio operator and you said I was a radio operator, well that was back in the days of Marconi, we didn’t have all the Internet and so forth. We were just discovering how to send messages by wireless, but we do have, and while we’re talking I’m just going to look for union address. They can contact the union and the union secretary will be glad to do it.

Cal:

Yes, yes.

Dr. Damon: I have it right here now. Her email address – and this is Sharon Morris, who is our secretary treasurer, is hypnounionsec@aol.com and she is secretary treasurer for National Federation of Hypnotists, Local 104 OPEIU AFL CIL CLC –how’s that for a mouthful?

Cal: That’s like alphabet soup there!

Dr. Damon: But hypnounionsec@aol.com or they can call her on 603-424-2136 and Sharon will be glad to send information out about the union. The more people we can get in the union the better, because the union and believe me I have to give credit where credit is due, and they have come through. I think up in Canada probably $15,000 dollars or more, we had to spend for a lobbyist up there, a professional lobbyist up there and they had come through for us and backing us up financially and so they do stick with us. And being a union member is really good, because you can use the union the union bug or little logo they have you’re a union member and union people like to trade with the union members, and we have some of our consulting hypnotists who have set up workshops, group seminars, for stress/smoking/weight through union health plans. Union health plans pay for it. So you can get your money back easily by just using a little imagination.

Cal: Beautiful and by the way, I’m working with Scot Giles to do a talk just like this on Meet the Pros. He’s going to be talking about Christianity and Hypnosis, and he’s a Reverend and real Reverend.

Dr. Damon: A real one?

Cal: A real one. Not of them Postcard, Mail Order Reverends’.

Dr. Damon: he doesn’t have to do all of this because he is a licensed counselor as well as a Real Minister. He doesn’t have to do all the things he does for our profession, he can practice anyway, he’s licensed and Lord doesn’t pertain to him as he pertains to other hypnotists. So the thing is that he does this, he doesn’t get paid for doing it.

He does it because he believes in what we’re doing and he certainly deserves a lot of credit and when I call him the Killer or the Avenging Angel, is only because he just gets up and really gets his hackles up when somebody tries to do us harm. That’s the kind of people you need. We are very fortunate that I have people such as yourself, Cal. I mean I can go through a list and all they have to do is go through our advisory board list and they can see people who are there to work without compensation. I mean they’re all volunteers; and the President’s Cabinet, I have people I can count on to give me good backup and good information and good feedback –that’s very important.

Cal: You know that’s something I think is so powerful in what you’ve done in putting together. The National Guild of Hypnotists is putting a team of leaders together and I’m honored to serve on the Advisory Board and also the Ethics Committee and just to be a part of this big dream that is un-folding before us.

Dr. Damon: Well and that’s it, we have people on the industry, people on The Board Certification Committee, we’re doing that because we believe in what we’re doing. At the same time I know there is sometimes the feeling of the Good Ole Boys running everything. If it weren’t the Good Ole Boys, as they refer to us, maybe not you Cal, but to me. If it wasn’t for the Good Ole Boys, we wouldn’t be where we are today because we didn’t give up, we kept going and we believe that.

At the same time we have a lot of people coming up in the field, we have a younger generation, and I don’t want to mention names, because I might miss people, but I will give you one example. John Weiry down in Pittsburg, he has a good friend down there, I can’t remember his name, so I shouldn’t have mentioned John. But anyway these young fellows and they’re young by comparison, are eager and they’re out working for the profession and these are people that we need, that we need, especially the younger ones coming in, because we’re not all going to be here forever. And we want to see the drive that we’ve established continue and I’m looking on my staff here and The Guild to have younger generations coming up. For example: my executive director and people say: well you believe in nepotism, yes I do. My daughter is executive director of The Guild, Melody and she grew up in the field of Hypnotism. She grew up knowing what we could do with it, how it could be used as a powerful tool for your family and as well as helping other people – So somebody who has that much knowledge and experience, why not?

So I’m very, very fortunate that I have staff that’s young and interested in the internet and they can come and fix my computer when it doesn’t work right and tell me what I’m doing wrong; to get on the internet to see Cal Banyan’s websites and so forth and that’s what we need and on the other hand we do need the people that had the years of experience because they are the ones that are still steering us in the right direction.

Cal: I’ve always been happy to working with the office there at The Guild. Melody’s always been really, really helpful for us and just really part of the team. Let me ask something, how about as we reach out to all hypnotists everywhere, how can all hypnotists help to build this profession?

Dr. Damon: By being professional…

Cal: There you go…

Dr. Damon: I mean it’s very, very simple. Get away from the things that are going to, I mean, you’re talking to a fellow who was a show man all his life and so when I say, get away from the showmanship it’s kind of hard for me to say that. But if we’re going to be professional and recognize that then we’ve got to get away from the image we have, I think we mentioned that on my next editorial on The Journal of Hypnotism, and we got to get away from that brand, of the pendulum of the –I always get this wrong and don’t mean to when I say the barking dog and sometimes I say clicking chicken but it’s supposed to be clacking duck syndrome. You know that image, I never can remove. I tell you the truth, I don’t know if it’s a duck or a chicken because I have never in all my years experience, ever seen anybody do this on stage or show or anything.

Cal: Now are saying we should put an end to stage hypnotism here or what?

Dr. Damon: That we should what?

Cal: That we should put an end to all stage hypnotism or what?

Dr. Damon: No we can’t do that. I mean let’s face it, The Guild was formed by stage hypnotists and it would never happen anyway, you won’t get rid of it. It’s fun for people and if it’s done right. There are people doing X-rated and R-rated shows, we should get rid of them because those shows are an embarrassment. But on the other hand, I recall a client coming in to me one time, when I was still seeing clients and he was a young man, college age and one of my standards questions that I fear most on the intake: ‘Have you ever been hypnotized before?’ No, ‘have you ever seen anyone hypnotized before?’ ‘Oh yea, I’ve seen so and so at the nightclub last week’ and he says that’s what made me think about coming to you because he was going to take the Bar Exam and he wife has taken it and passed and he had failed and he was going to take it again and so he was a little worried about it, he needed some help. He thought well hypnotism could help. And I said well, I knew the hypnotist he had seen, I said ‘What did you think of the show?’ He said ‘Well it was disgusting, yeah it was funny, but he did he have to be that disgusting…

Cal: Right…

Dr. Damon: That particular hypnotist, I have to admit he gets the laughs, he gets the jobs, but it’s really degrading to the people who participate in the show.

Cal: You can be a performer and still be very professional and represent the field well, isn’t that right?

Dr. Damon: Oh absolutely, We have a lot of hypnotists, like Jerry Valley he does a very good show, Tommy Vee, Ormond McGill did a very good professional show. We have so many of them and that’s the type we still honor the stage hypnotists in our convention. We have three performances on Friday night and it’s a chance for people to have some fun and some laughs and we look for the one, and we would never has someone who would embarrass the profession and we just had people we know or top professionals.

Cal: You know what; this is a good time to kind of segue into what is next. You know I have been a member of The NGH since 1996 and I have never ever missed a convention. When I was new, I was going just to gobble up the information I can and now I’m privileged to teach there and give workshops and why don’t you tell everyone about the convention and why this year it’s so special? Its 21! It’s grown up, right? Every year is special right?

Dr. Damon: Yes. Its 21 years and the convention is the world’s largest and friendliest and there’s no getting around it, somebody who had not been to our convention – it is really the world largest. We have anywhere between 1500 – 1700 people attending and it is the friendliest. Everybody is friendly. You can go and approach anybody and even the big names like Cal Banyan…

Cal: Oh…

Dr. Damon: And he’ll stop and talk with you. I like to talk to people and lately I have found people don’t come up to talk to me as much, I don’t know, maybe I don’t look that friendly or something. This year at the convention I’m going to see how many people I shake hands with and get to know. When we had fewer than a thousand members and just myself here in the office and Melody working in my chiropractic office also, and so I answered the phone not only for my chiropractic patients, but also member of The Guild and we had a few hundred numbers, so I get to know everybody. This year we are going to honor any of our members who have been members for 20 years or more. It’s close to a hundred members…

Cal:

Wow…

Dr. Damon: So that’s a long time to be a member of The Guild. We have something like 200 workshops and seminars and we have a wonderful member faculty, maybe its 200 member faculty, I don’t know. All of our convention work is done out of fine Florida office, Elsen Eldridge and Jean are down there, do all of the work. They know all of the figures, so I just sit here, and keep them going. With 200 seminars and 170 different speakers, that’s the thing. I will get the numbers right after a while. Now you see why I wasn’t a CCA.

Cal: I was just reading the other day and there is 181 workshops included in the price of a convention and you guys have just released a downloadable version of the convention catalogue and I’ve got it on www.calbanyan.com if anyone wants to download and look at all that’s going on…

Dr. Damon: Well that’s great and if they’re not a member of The Guild, and they don’t go o the internet to www.calbanyan.com and they want a hard copy of this beautiful catalogue, they can contact us and we’ll send them one. They’ve just come off the press and they’ll be in the mail either today or Monday…

Cal: Hard copy? That’s so last century…

Dr. Damon: Oh no, no, no. Now you sound like some of my staff. They say why don’t you just put it on the internet. Cal, I do not like to read a book on my computer; I do not like to print out a lot of loose sheets to print out a catalogue; I like to hold it in my hand to take it with me, if I go down to the coffee shop I want to take it with me; If I’m on a plane, I want it with me and we had this discussion today, about how much money it costs to put on The Journal and The Hypno-Gram and our video, DVD library catalogue and our resource guide. We have this all on the internet too, but it is nice to have it with you and so you know you’re of the generation, we just look at it on the computer…

Cal: You know what; I want to have it both ways. I want to have it on the computer and I want to have it because I still have every Journal I’ve ever received in the mail and every Hypno-Gram and I collect them and they become resource I can grab and take with me. I’m not one way or the other I think that’s it’s great that you involved in this century and providing the internet and still giving out hard copies.

Dr. Damon: We trying to do both. We’re trying to keep up with technology at the same time we’re trying to keep up with the segment of the population and would like to have the hard copy as well. The Guild has accomplished a lot of firsts; I mean there’s no getting around it. I mean we established the profession. We are the first ones that really had size of require continuing education because we figure eventually when we’re recognized as a profession and licensed they’re going to say: oh you got to have continuing education, every profession has to. We are the first to really establishing a quo curriculum certified instructors, we’re the first to have a video rent library, I don’t think anybody else has that; I think somebody else has it by now.

We print two magazines, we have the consumer magazine, I think we were the first to get profession liability insurance – maybe not but I know it took me 3 or 4 years to find a company who would insure everybody. We are the only union, the hypnotist union that is chartered for all states.  We have just done some many things that we just been so fortunate. We have people work and do all this and believe in the fact we can really be a recognized profession and I hope this is going to happen, well I know it will happen, in my lifetime. I want to see it happen, where we’re really when accepted and all these things people say ‘we need more education, we need college education’ those things will come along later. Right now we have what we have and we can build on what we have and some day they’ll say ‘I want to be a consulting hypnotist – well I think I’m going to go to Perdu and get my degree there. So people don’t need to go out and buy a college degree so they have a title and I don’t think that’s necessary, what you need to do be good what you do and people aren’t that much impressed a doctor a professor or whatever you do or all the initials behind your name. That doesn’t matter, the results are what matter.

Cal: The best credential you can have, is having helped the mother, father, sister, brother, cousin or friend.

Dr. Damon:

That’s right…

Cal: That’s right…

Dr. Damon. Helping ordinary everyday people with ordinary everyday problems, is what I like to say.

Cal: That’s right. That’s right.

Dr. Damon: I mean we don’t have to have miracles. That’s miracle enough. When you go to hospital, and I’ve had this before, and you have someone who is dying of cancer and they have them on the direct drip -I.V, just to sedate them and try to keep them comfortable and you have them conditioned so you can use hypnosis with them and get them out of the pain for a while and the morphine is touching it, I mean that is an accomplishment and I know that this can be done. Because I’ve been there and done it and I’ve done it with love ones…

Cal: And it really adds to quality of life in those last months or weeks, because you can really reduce the amount of medication necessary to control the pain. Is that right?

Dr. Damon: Yes that’s right and it doesn’t have to be, it’s not going to cure the cancer, but if you can help alleviate the side effects of chemo and radiation therapy, what a wonderful thing you can do. That’s why we had some many nurses getting into the field. We have an awful lot of nurses…

Cal: In the field of Psychology, which is my background, there is a thing called Diathesis Stress Hypothesis and that says stress of different forms can contribute to many illnesses, so it’s not out of the question at all that doing hypnosis work to remove stress, can help the other things the doctor is doing and help the body heal itself. Is that right?

Dr. Damon: Absolutely. I recall going into the hospital, my first wife was dying of cancer and I was there. I used to come home for maybe four hours of sleep after midnight and I remember going back in, one morning and the Chargers, came and said, I’m so glad you’re back Doctor. I don’t know what it is you do, because we need to do whatever the thing you do, because the morphine isn’t doing Lois any good and she said We’re so glad you’re back. I’m sure they understand eventually, what we are doing and this is it. They say wow this is good.

We had Maggie, we had a sign in her room, Everyday and in every way, and I’m getting better and better Hurray! And I got a kick out of it because she had a little Dominican and she had relax and redactors come in and as sick as she was, she’d say as everyday and in every way, I’m getting better and better and they’d smile and one of the nurses on the oncology floor said ‘Can we use that?’ I said ‘Oh yeah, of course you can, I didn’t come up with this saying’. I said ‘Want me to run off some on the computer bring them to you? She said ‘I wish you would.’ So you know…

Cal: There’s a story like that or more with every hypnotists that’s out there working and helping people. That’s really what it’s all about.

Dr. Damon: What a wonderful tool we have. Not just helping other people but our families. I’ve tried out personal experiences for Hypnosis Today, which is a good magazine. I hope you agree with me on that, I think It’s a good magazine for the general public because it covers, because it has a story of a hospital in  Florida; It has famous child birth in Iran, all sorts of wonderful stories. Hypnosis in Iraq, Hypnosis in Botswana, you know any person can read this and say there’s something to this. Not just getting people and making them bark like dogs…

Cal: Yes it’s also a great little door opener when you go see your doctor, leave it. Other professionals…

Dr. Damon: I’m sure you know who Johnny Appleseed’s is, he went around the country planting apple trees around the country, it started here in New England by the way. We do that constantly, if we’re going to hospital for anything, we go drop them off in every waiting room. The doctors’ offices, the dentist offices and libraries love to have a supply. I go to a drycleaner, who I gave one to each one of the girls working there and they said can you leave a few for other customers. I said absolutely.

When we went to do Solid Gold this year at the Tuscany in Las Vegas, to the clerk checking us in, and one of the other ones looked at us said ‘Can I have one too?’ Well after I get through all six people across the front of the counter all had them, I said don’t read them now – they’re all reading – I don’t want you all to get fired you know and they did they enjoyed it. They asked for more for so and so, they enjoyed the stories and they enjoy what we do.

Cal: How can people get a copy of it?

Dr. Damon: Contact The Guild, we happen to have a few thousand, no they can purchase some, they are very reasonably priced and we’ve left a nice space on the outside back cover.  Where you can take a video label, that’s the size and print it up on your computer and you can get a free ad, so when you pass it out, the people inside who paid for their ad, get exposure from all over the world and you get exposure for purchasing them in bulk and its $4.95 a magazine and you can buy a quality for a dollar a piece. That’s pretty cheap advertising really.

Cal: Hey, if I could just change the topic a little bit  if I can because I’d like to offer the chance for some questions and answers would that be ok for you?

Dr. Damon: Well yeah, you’ve already gone over your 45minutes, is that ok with you?

Cal: You know what? I tend to go over an hour anyway.

Dr. Damon: Good I’m having fun.

Cal: Let’s see I have an email sent in, from Linda and she’s from one of our Yahoo! Groups and she says: Thank you Cal, for offering to do this, I’m not available for the call. My question for Dr. Damon is, all of us actually she says, is about the impact the ailing economy may have on our profession, perhaps the larger more economically sound areas won’t feel it but I have to believe that the more rural areas will feel it. I live in Maine, which is really ailing. Not only do I live in Maine I live in a really rural area. What are your feelings around how to deal with doctor?

Dr. Damon: Well I live in New Hampshire and we are neighbors with Maine. See I believe the media are driving this thing, I believe they are giving negative suggestions to the public; they are creating this economic problem. They would lay off if they started giving positive suggestions, I think we could turn it around. The government would say: Hey things are getting better, so then they would help out but I mentioned in one of my columns, it may be one upcoming or one already ran, in the Hypno-Gram about different people I’ve spoken to that said they noticed that things, for example like Jacobs ______ , specialized in smoking sensation, I think it was in the last Hypno-Gram. He told me he was down in Brooklyn, New York. He does his own advertising, and he works right out of his apartment and he has a fantastic clientele because he’s built a wonderful reputation not because he just for smoking, but for everything, but he’s best known for smoking. He says a lot of times now he getting people coming in, they says You know well I like to smoke and I don’t want to give it up, but I can’t afford it anymore , so they’d rather pay this onetime fee to stop smoking and save the money of buying a packet a day. I don’t know how much cigarettes cost but, I imagine it’s plenty by now. You know I found John Dubesky down in Florida and again he’s been seeing people who want to get a better positive attitude; you know he’s down there with a lot of retirees. And he’s says they are getting worried and have started coming to him – a lot of people. Mc Issics said people you know are concerned and getting mental stress about their bills and mortgages and so forth and they just want some stress reduction, so you know, there is some work there. Being in the wilds of Maine, you might have to adjust your prices a little bit, but why not, and don’t forget – Maine you can always barter. That’s the way to keep things going. And get the family haircuts done because the barber wants to stop smoking and he’ll tell other people ‘Yes I went to Linda’, was it Linda…

Cal: Yes that’ll be Linda…

Dr. Damon: …’and she went to Linda and she stopped me from smoking. Wow, she could help you George’ and bartering is a good system and when times are tough, when people think times are tough then they really are…

Cal: That’s right. What we remember is people buy solutions, and listen to what the people are complaining about and then hypnosis could be a viable alternative. For example, I was in an establishment the other day, and they said so Cal what do you do? I’m a hypnotist and that’s all you got to do and they’ll start asking you can you help me with this? Can you help me with that? and this fellow happens to be a sale manager for a car dealership, and he asks can you help my people sell more, Sure that’s easy it happens all the time and I gave him some stories about what I’d done with clients and he’s excited…

Dr. Damon: That’s good. I did the same thing I went out and bought a new car….

Cal: Good for you…

Dr. Damon: I went out and made one salesman very happy…

Cal: Good. What I’d like to do now is open the line up and see if anyone else has a question. In order to do you just have to hit *6, you can un-mute yourself and you can ask a question to Dr. Damon.

Maybe everyone left, because we talked too long…

Dr. Damon: They all went home, that’s it. That’s alright, we had a good time. They can tune in later. Well do you have any other questions?

Cal: Well yes I just have one that came in on a SMS type thing here and they want to know…

Dr. Damon: A SMS type…

Cal: One of these things, like a little message come up on my computer and stuff, and the listener wants to know: where is the convention at?

Dr. Damon: I’m glad that person asked because it’s no secret at all, its Marlborough, Massachusetts. It’s The Royal Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, and right now we have sold out all the rooms, however, just at the end of the driveway, probably just a short walk down at the trade building, its just a little further, there is a hotel, we have shuttle service to 4 or 5 other hotels right nearby. When I mean shuttle service, this is a professional shuttle service that runs regularly all day and right up to the last things that are going up on to the evening, so people are at other motels nearby, who are by the way, giving the same rate for hotel rooms, that we have for hotel rooms, I’m not going to quote a price because I’m unsure on those things, they let me know but I forget. I think it’s under $100, maybe $90-something, maybe its $103, buy anyways they are very reasonable, the hotels are respecting that same rate, because we have a large crowd coming from Marlborough, Massachusetts. If they are coming from any distance, they can fly in through Boston and take a shuttle from Boston and fly into Providence, rent a car, take a shuttle; they can come into Hartford and rent a car or take a shuttle. So it’s easy to get to and there are plenty of motels and plenty of places to eat. Just off ground, sometimes people want to get away from the hotel for a little while, you don’t need a car because there an adjacent shopping centre with 3-4 restaurants, I think you’ve been over there for meetings or stuff…

Cal: Yes…

Dr. Damon: A Steakhouse or whatever it is and so it’s just a wonderful facility.

Cal: It’s worked out really good for us and I want to remind the 5-PATHers out there and all the Banyan Grads, that on Thursday night before the convention we have annual reunion and awards ceremony that we recognize 5-PATHers that are contributing to the profession and to the growth of 5-PATH® and 7-Path™. So make sure you get in there a day early.

To everybody else listening I want to tell them about the workshops I will be doing. There’s going to be an advanced hypnosis for weight loss workshop, go beyond the script for maximum results and also I’m doing insider secrets to a thriving practice where I talk about the star model and getting multiple streams of income so that if you’re not making as much money as you want, you can make more money and if you want to go from part time to full time – I’m going to show you how to do that. Dr. Damon, why don’t you wrap it up?

Dr. Damon: Ok well I will and by the way thank you for your contribution to our student kits, of your information about the star method and it’s a valuable addition to our training materials. I just want to tell people, I hope they will, what they should do is use their ESP incentive plan, you see the government is giving them and use that and split with your husband or your wife and use your half to come to the convention…

Cal: Great idea…

Dr. Damon: You’d be real glad that you did and I would like to have as many people as possible come to the convention. Come over and introduce themselves – I’d like to meet people, I like to know who they are and where they’re from and you know we can just say hello, if they have questions they can ask me, I’m there and I’m available. I want to thank you Cal, for having me on your show on your program and it’s been really fun and I hope we’ve given a lot of information to folks out there.

Cal: I think we really did. Thank you Dr. Damon. Thank you for your leadership in the profession. Thank you for being on the show, thanks everybody for coming in who’s listening live right now and also to everyone who’s downloading this on www.hypnosis.org or www.calbanyan.com. I’d like to invite all our listeners to visit all of my main websites: www.hypnosis.org ; www.calbanyan.com and www.hypnosiscenter.com.

That’s it this is Cal Banyan, signing off!

About the Author

I first became interested in hypnosis as a child, when listening to my grandmother tell me stories about her brother, my Uncle Ward who was a hypnotist. That turned out to be the beginning of a lifelong interest in psychology, philosophy and theology, which has resulted in my professional career in hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Cal Banyan, MA, BCH, CI, FNGH. OOB

Nightmare Rental Property

Signed Roger Davis Photo – ADAM PASCAL *RENT* 8X10 W COA * $86.77 Signed Roger Davis Photo – ADAM PASCAL *RENT* 8X10 W COA * ADAM PASCAL signed *RENT* 8X10 photo W/COA *ROGER DAVISEvery signed item comes fully certified with a tamper proof hologram certificate of authenticity and is backed by the SportsMemorabilia.com Authenticity Guarantee.

Autographed Roger Davis Photo – ADAM PASCAL *RENT* 8X10 W COA * $86.77 Autographed Roger Davis Photo – ADAM PASCAL *RENT* 8X10 W COA * ADAM PASCAL signed *RENT* 8X10 photo W/COA *ROGER DAVISEvery signed item comes fully certified with a tamper proof hologram certificate of authenticity and is backed by the SportsMemorabilia.com Authenticity Guarantee.

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Wine labeling: Some rules that you should know

When talking about wine label, you will find that this contains important information that you need about the wine inside the bottle. The things that should be written on the label are regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). The regulations and rules of the wine label will ensure that the wine is exactly what it is written on the label.

The regulations and rules in wine labeling will also help the consumers to know the information about the label. The followings are some rules in wine labeling that might be very useful for you.

Wine maker
Wine marker is also called as the winery. This is the most important thing that should be written on label. This will be the name of the company that produces it. You will find that is some cases, the trademark name is also usually used.

Appellation
This represents the origin of the wine. Appellation is the region or the country where the grapes used for producing the wine are grown. This is the second thing that should be written on the label. When talking about this, you will find that 75% of the grapes must be from a specified appellation.

Vintage
According to the TTB, this is the third thing that should be included into the label. Vintage indicates the time when the grapes were harvested. This is not the time when the wine is made or bottled. When you find that the word “vintage” is written in other languages, this means that the wine was made in other countries.

Variety
This is the next thing that should be put on the wine label. This is the variety of grapes that is used to make the wine. You will find that rules for the variety of wine used to produce it may different in each country. In the U.S, this is only 75% of the wine that should be bottled from the specified variety.

Estate Bottled
This is the last thing that should be located on the label. To make the word “estate bottled” is put on the label, the grapes used to make the wine must be grown at the establishment. Additionally, the grapes should be crushed and also there should not be any premise when the wine is bottled.

Those are rules that should be put on the wine label. When you buy a bottle of wine, you should check the label. You have to make sure that it contains that information so that you will be able to get a good wine.

About the Author

However, the label is made to meet the regulation in trading a certain product. You will find that it might be printed with the industrial label printer. The printer t6hat is used can also the Datamax label printer

.

Cigar Review: La Verite 2008 from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje

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The Collector’s Guide to Vintage Cigarette Packs (A Schiffer Book for Collectors) $27.21 At last, here is the compendium of cigarette packs that collectors have been waiting for! Joe Giesenhagen has compiled a fantastic collection of cigarette packs dating from the 1880s to the present, in all colors, shapes and sizes. See the incredible diversity of character in cigarette packaging over the past century, and the amazing creative effort some companies exerted to make their cigarettes …

Welcome Nugget Tobacco Label 28×42 Giclee On Canvas $428.79 Series: Cigar LabelsArtist: UnknownPeriod: Source country: USASource Year: 1870A vintage tobacco label. The scene commemorates find a giant gold nugget and has an inscription on the rock which reads: As the \ Welcome Nugget\ weighing 2217 ounces exceeds in purity and value of any lump of gold ever found This brand surpasses in quality any tobacco made.28 inch by 42 inch Giclee print on Canvas.All files are stored digitally and are ready for reproduction. The quality is closely monitored to ensure professional results.This item is custom made per order.

Welcome Nugget Tobacco Label 12×18 Giclee On Canvas $77.63 Series: Cigar LabelsArtist: UnknownPeriod: Source country: USASource Year: 1870A vintage tobacco label. The scene commemorates find a giant gold nugget and has an inscription on the rock which reads: As the \ Welcome Nugget\ weighing 2217 ounces exceeds in purity and value of any lump of gold ever found This brand surpasses in quality any tobacco made.12 inch by 18 inch Giclee print on Canvas.All files are stored digitally and are ready for reproduction. The quality is closely monitored to ensure professional results.This item is custom made per order.

Tiger Brand Tobacco Label 28×42 Giclee On Canvas $428.79 Series: Cigar LabelsArtist: UnknownPeriod: Source country: USASource Year: 1870This vintage advertising is the Tiger Brand tobacco label printed by A. Hoen Co. lithographers of Richmond VA. This label was printed during the 1880 s for the intention of being pasted on a crate or barrel of tobacco.28 inch by 42 inch Giclee print on Canvas.All files are stored digitally and are ready for reproduction. The quality is closely monitored to ensure professional results.This item is custom made per order.

Tiger Brand Tobacco Label 12×18 Giclee On Canvas $77.63 Series: Cigar LabelsArtist: UnknownPeriod: Source country: USASource Year: 1870This vintage advertising is the Tiger Brand tobacco label printed by A. Hoen Co. lithographers of Richmond VA. This label was printed during the 1880 s for the intention of being pasted on a crate or barrel of tobacco.12 inch by 18 inch Giclee print on Canvas.All files are stored digitally and are ready for reproduction. The quality is closely monitored to ensure professional results.This item is custom made per order.

Buyenlarge 225947P2030 Tiger Brand Tobacco Label 20×30 poster $31.73 Series: Cigar Labels. Artist: Unknown. Period:. Source country: USA. Source Year: 1870. This vintage advertising is the Tiger Brand tobacco label printed by A. Hoen Co. lithographers of Richmond VA. This label was printed during the 1880 s for the intention of being pasted on a crate or barrel of tobacco. 20inch by 30 inch poster print on standard paper. All files are stored digitally and are ready for reproduction. The quality is closely monitored to ensure professional results. This item takes 59 businessdays to ship

Buyenlarge 225939P2030 Welcome Nugget Tobacco Label 20×30 poster $30.55 Series: Cigar Labels. Artist: Unknown. Period:. Source country: USA. Source Year: 1870. A vintage tobacco label. The scene commemorates find a giant gold nugget and has an inscription on the rock which reads: As the \ Welcome Nugget\ weighing 2217 ounces exceeds in purity and value of any lump of gold ever found This brand surpasses in quality any tobacco made. 20inch by 30 inch poster print on standard paper. All files are stored digitally and are ready for reproduction. The quality is closely monitored to ensure professional results. This item takes 59 businessdays to ship

Vintage Shoe Company Aubrey (Women’s) – Tobacco Harness $109.45 Modeled after the historic wing-tip design, our Aubrey offers a feminine take on the beloved men’s shoe. Crafted from washed suedes or weathered leathers, this women’s wingtip has its very own authentic style. Available Colors: Chocolate Harness, Black Harness, Tobacco Harness.

Vintage Shoe Company Morgan (Women’s) – Tobacco Harness $102.95 The ballerina flat was inspired by shoes worn by both men and women in the 16th century called pompes. Additionally, the thin and flat style shoe was clearly modeled after the slippers dancers wore on stage. Handmade from quality materials, the Morgan ballerina flat gives off a timeless, feminine silhouette. Available Colors: Chestnut Canvas, Chocolate Harness, Black Harness, Tobacco Harness.

Adding A Home Theater

Basements are very suitable for home theater construction.  They don’t have a lot of natural light, and they are well buffered from noises that might come from upstairs.  A possible problem could be access.  You should have a 36″ wide door and stair in order to get seating and equipment into the space, or direct access to the basement from the outside.

 

THE ROOM – Comfortable seating is very important since the movie viewers will be sitting for 2 hours or more.  The ability to put your feet up is always a nice bonus.

 

Everything should be dark – even the ceiling.  You could use black or dark fabric to cover walls. And you can buy black ceiling tiles.  This will give you a more vivid picture than if you had light-colored surfaces in the vicinity of the screen.  High-hats with dimmers will allow you to control the lighting. 

 

It also helps if the eyes are not distracted by cluttered shelving or blinking lights on electronic equipment.  Try to conceal as much as possible with cabinets.

 

The floor should be carpet or cork tiles to help eliminate resonance.  This will improve the acoustic quality of the movie.  However, it’s usually not a good idea to put carpet directly over a cement floor in the basement, so I think an area rug or throw rugs, or an engineered wood floor would be better options.

 

THE EQUIPMENT – There are 2 views about the size of the screen.  One says to get a 72″ screen and feel more like you’re in a movie theater.  The other prefers to size the screen to the room and the distance between seating and the screen.  I agree with the latter, but I don’t believe there’s a right or wrong answer here. It’s strictly your preference.

 

The sound system is critical.  I’m not an expert in this field, and I would definitely get advice from the retailer selling you the system, but I’ve heard that a 6-speaker surround sound set-up is excellent.  I’m told that a subwoofer (whatever that is) is important – get a good one.

 

The DVD player should be able to play in High Definition (obviously).  They’ll cost a  little bit more, but don’t even think about not having one.

 

ACCESSORIES – Now you can add to the fun with things like movie posters, a popcorn machine, neon signs that say “Joe’s Theater”.  You can go a little over the top if you’re inclined.  Enjoy the movie. 

About the Author

Charles has worked in the construction industry for 39 years. He invites you to ask questions and take advantage of the resources on www.continuous-home-improvement-help.com , where guidance, information and support are always available.

London in 1955. Extract from film 8140

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How To Install Unsigned Drives On Windows 7

With the new release from Microsoft, Window 7, hardware manufactures were required to digitally sign the device drivers that run things like sound cards, video cards, etc. If you are looking to install Windows 7 on an older computer or laptop it is quite possible the device drivers will not not have a digital signature. All is not lost, a workaround is available that allows these components to be installed.

The process is not difficult but does require digging into areas that average users would not normally tread. I make no guarantee that this will work, these are the steps I followed and they worked on my system. Before starting do a search on Google for dseo.exe and download the file to the desktop.

The first step is to disable User Access Control by typing in “UAC” from the start menu and pressing enter. move the slider to the lowest level and click OK. Next double click on dseo.exe from the menu select “Enable Test Mode”, click next, you will be prompted to reboot.

Next locate the driver that needs to be signed, right click my computer select manage, click Device Manager in the left hand window. In right hand window look for the exclamation point (in most cases there should be only one, but there could be more) right click the name and select properties. Under Driver tab click Driver Details, the file that needs to be signed will be the file name that does not have a certificate to the left of the file name. Make note of the name and location.

Final step is to sign the driver, run dseo.exe again this time selecting “Sign a System File”, enter the path and click OK, you will be asked to reboot again. After the system reboots the devies should work.

About the Author

Garry’s been writing article and reviews on various products for some time. View more articles and reviews written by Garry at bamboobedding.org including the newest on Bamboo Bedding and Fabrics

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Signed Card Through Window by JP Vallarino $59.95 For the first time in the card through window effect, the card is signed and ends clean on the other side of the window. Performed live without the assistance of anyone else.Have a spectator freely pick a card from a regular deck of Bicycle. Once the card is chosen and signed, the card is lost in the deck. You are going to place a piece of tape on the back of one card, the one you believe being th…

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