"When 'Catch Me If You Can' was published back in 1980, I never dreamed that it would become a bestse..." — Frank Abagnale

I was very blessed it was Steven Spielberg who made the movie. He was very much into the redemption side of the story. They asked him in an interview why he had owned the rights to this story for 20 years before he made the movie, and he said, 'I wanted to see what the real Frank Abagnale did with his life before I immortalised him on film.'

One thing I've found is that if you educate and show people the risk, they will do something about it.

My father was never really the con-man type that the film shows him to be: he was straight as an arrow, though he did have problems with the IRS.

A lot of people say I was brilliant. I wasn't. I was an opportunist: a young entrepreneur who saw things and took advantage.