I would hate to spoil the book -- or the movie for that matter, released in theaters December 25 -- so I'll tell you no more than this: it's a story of a young man, Frank W. Abagnale, who passes more than $2.5 million in bad checks over the course of five years by posing as an airline pilot, a professor, a doctor and a lawyer -- all before the age of 21.

While this true crime thriller tops my list of "must read" books, I find the rest of this man's life story equally fascinating. Today, Frank W. Abagnale is one of the most respected authorities on the subjects of forgery, embezzlement and secure documents. Whereas he began his "career" running from the FBI, he now lectures at the FBI Academy. His former clients include national banks, hotel chains, insurance companies, airlines, federal reserve banks, accounting firms and finance associations -- to name a few.

This extraordinary transition resulted when Abagnale realized the life of crime was no longer "romantic or noble" as he once thought. But the biggest factor to this changed attitude, according to Abagnale, is that he "simply grew up."

The continuation of Catch Me If You Can was published just last year. The Art of the Steal is a guide authored by Abagnale on how consumers and businesses can protect themselves from fraud, America's number one crime. The greatest lesson taught in this book is that fraud -- whether it be check forgery, counterfeit documents, employee embezzlement or identity theft -- costs businesses up to $400 billion each year. And that number is growing. In fact, Abagnale points out that it's the only "business" in the world that doesn't face a loss!

Because fraud is so widespread and so often goes unpunished, Abagnale believes the only way to stop it is to prevent it. Here are some main points gathered from The Art of the Steal on how to protect your business from two of the most detrimental forms of fraud: check forgery and employee theft.

Check forgery. It is estimated that check fraud costs businesses over $19 billion a year and that only two percent of thieves are caught. Of that 2 percent, even fewer are actually convicted and penalized. Abagnale suggests, first and foremost, that businesses understand how check fraud works. The check is a detailed piece of paper and crooks know it well. Additionally, he suggests businesses:

• Put an extended stop payment period on checks -- like 999 instead of the usual 180. Banks allow a three-digit number, so why not make it as long a time period as possible?
• Write the payee line in full. Instead of "IRS", write "Internal Revenue Service" so that a check forger can't change "IRS" to "MRS SMITH."
• Make note of the Federal Reserve code number that is printed on the check you have in hand. This code is the first two numbers of the routing code. Each of the 12 federal reserve banks in the United States is assigned a number (1-12). New York is 02. If the check you have before you is addressed New York, but the Federal Reserve code number is 09, you have a suspicious check.
• Make your company checks difficult to forge or alter by forgoing the inexpensive blue or green basketweave check paper for chemically sensitive paper.

Employee theft. Abagnale stresses the importance of a controlled atmosphere that takes away temptation to steal from employees. For instance, he cites a restaurant that removed all pockets from its wait staff's uniforms so employees would not be tempted to steal money that belonged in the register. Other tips to counter employee theft, a multi-billion dollar problem:

• Review hiring procedures for permanent and temporary positions. Always check references. Ask former employers and references, "Would you hire him again?"
• When using temporary employees in financial areas, have them bonded.
• Rotate personnel in financially sensitive assignments on a regular basis.
• Make employees take a vacation; the absence of an employee who is stealing could reveal her as the culprit!
• Establish checks and balances. Separate the accounts receivable and banking functions. Says Abagnale: "No one person, no matter how much you trust him, should ever be in complete control of a transaction."
• Avoid outsourcing accounts payable. Abagnale discourages this because you are relinquishing control, which is not worth the money saved.
• Protect all master file records with a password so that any employees with access to major records leave a paper trail.
• Secure company checks by stamping or writing "void" and "canceled" so they are unusable. Abagnale shares the story of an accounts payable department of a city that threw away its checks without voiding them; an observant cleaning crew employee used them to give himself an unauthorized bonus that totaled $1 million.

For further information, refer to The Art of the Steal, which is divided by chapters on each type of fraud. Additionally, the book reveals the tricks of the trade -- how crooks employ and get away with each type of fraud.

If for no other reason than to satisfy your curiosity on how this adolescent forger went legit, pick up Catch Me If You Can (by Stan Redding and Frank W. Abagnale) and The Art of the Steal at your local bookstore, or visit www.broadwaybooks.com

Find out what Frank Abagnale has to say about the "true" story of Catch Me If You Can: http://www.abagnale.com/facomments.html