Anatomy of a Ponzi

Scams Past and Present

By: Colleen Cross

Narrated by: Randal Schaffer

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Is your money safe? Charles Ponzi lent the Ponzi scheme its name, but he is not the first or the last to dupe investors with this age-old con. Bernard Madoff, Tom Petters, and others amassed billions before their arrests, but it is not all about the money.

Find out what makes fraudsters tick, and how they swindle their victims. The biggest Ponzi scheme of all time is operating under the radar right now, unknown and undetected by regulators and unsuspecting investors.

Could you be a victim? Learn how scammers stay under the radar, and discover my stunning prediction of exactly where, when, and how this massive Ponzi scheme will finally collapse.

©2013 Colleen Cross (P)2017 Colleen Cross

Very insightful for the beginners

Very insightful for the beginners in the financial products investment. It's just thrilling to realize that the fraudsters are always there to get you. And even if you are diligent enough to avoid the fraud yourself, you and all the rest will definitely suffer a lot when the next Madoff is exposed. Stay vigilant.

Non fiction as exciting as fiction! What a great read!

I learned so much from this book. Fascinated me from beginning to end! I love the authors fiction stories and am blown away by the ability she has shown in this genre as well! The narrator was fabulous and led the reader on an informative adventure. I absolutely recommend this!

Greed Upon Greed

Colleen Cross’ “Anatomy of a Ponzi” is one of those books that makes you wonder “Are people really that stupid or is it just greed? Maybe both.” It boggles the mind to think that there are people in the world you can honestly believe that they can get a 500%, 800% or a 1,000% return on their investment. And it’s even more mind-boggling to think there are people who perpetrate these scams and get away with them for years.

“Anatomy of a Ponzi” is extremely well written. Cross knows her stuff who doesn’t confuse you with technical jargon while at the same time not talking down to you. The highlight of the book, to me, was a review of the all-time top ten global Ponzi schemes. It’s good to know there are stupid people around the world. Originally written in 2013, I also appreciated the fact that Cross updated the book just this month – January 2018.

My only complaint about this book was Randal Schaffer. There was just something about his voice that grated on me and he almost – almost – detracted from an excellent book.

A great practical cover of ponzi schemes

The book first goes over the 10 biggest ponzi schemes discovered until 2013, and tries to analyze how to avoid one's.
I can't help think that on the right circumstances I would too be tempted to invest in one.
While most seem idiotic some are really complicated and made me think that it's not surprising that they profited as much as they did.
The narration is a bit dry for my taste but didn't prevent me from enjoying the book.

Sure, you know Bernie Madoff, but who is Ponzi?

This book is a highly accessible history of the Ponzi scheme, from the man who gave it its name, to the present. The various financial details are described in easily understood ways, so that readers can understand the new spin each conman gave to this old con. Best of all, the cases discussed are diverse, ranging over decades and continents, rather than limited to the 20th century USA.
Recommended. Full Disclosure: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

more of an informational book

I've read Colleen cross books before and loved them. I was expecting more of a novel instead of an informational text. It provided good information, just not what I was expecting.

Great book on the history of Ponzi schemes

Before I listened to this book I had a vague notion of what Ponzi schemes were. After listening to example after example in this book, I now know exactly what they are, and how to spot one. The book goes to great lengths to make you understand the nature of a Ponzi scheme, as well as going into detail of the 10 worst schemes in history. You will be surprised how many there were, how they were implemented, and how their perpetrators got away, or didn’t get away, with them.

I had no complaints with the narrator. He was clear and concise and his voice is perfect for non-fiction work.

This book was gifted to me by the author in exchange for an unbiased review.

Greed Motivated

I found this book to be very informative. I hadn't really understood how the scams were so successful, but now I have a much better understanding. The saying "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true" comes to mind. I liked how the author pointed out some of the good test questions to ask to avoid being caught up in a scam. Typically I do not listen to many non-fiction books a year, but I did learn some things from this one. I would definitely listen to this book again before making any investments. I requested this review copy audiobook from the author, narrator, and/or publisher and have voluntarily written this review. My review of the narrator is difficult for me to analyze as he doesn't have characters to portray like fiction books require. His voice was pleasant and he didn't have any annoying sounds.

Good book, bad people

This was a good presentation of some unsavory folks - a rogues gallery of some of the biggest thieves in history. I enjoyed reading it and appreciate the helpful material throughout and at the end advising what to look for and how to avoid Ponzi schemes. The narrator did a fine job keeping the story moving.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

A fascinating and informative read!

Anatomy of a Ponzi details various fraudulent scams. It starts by describing typical things to look out for and the types of people (psychopaths) to be wary of. It then describes how various schemes occurred and how they were ended. The story ends with some useful information for people to look out for and some fascinating predictions.

This was a really captivating and informative listen. It is so interesting to understand how criminals think! I understood how ponzi and pyramid schemes worked in general but this book really gave me the details that put it all together. As a person who deals with financial statements and analysis thereof quite regularly, i feel that i benefited from listening to this book both from an enjoyment as well as from a professional perspective. The narration was clear and well presented.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in these schemes, and how to identify them and avoid them.

Note: This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this objective review voluntarily.