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Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves
These are the 14 red flags to identify the scammer in your life before they con you—from a victim-turned-vigilante and host of the hit podcast Queen of the Con.
“Johnathan Walton has written a master class on how to spot scammers, con artists, grifters, and thieves. And his storytelling reads like a crime novel. . . . A must-read.”—Joe Navarro, FBI special agent (ret.) and author of the international bestseller Dangerous Personalities
“Some people play golf on the weekends,” Johnathan Walton says. “I hunt con artists.”
Con artists are everywhere—your new boyfriend or girlfriend, your new neighbor or coworker, your new friend—and they don’t outsmart you; they out-feel you to get their hands on your money. In Anatomy of a Con Artist, Walton lays out “the tells” based on hundreds of real-life cases he’s investigated,
Red Flag #1—A Stranger Offering Someone new and overly helpful insinuates themselves into your life.
Red Flag #3—Drama, Drama, Constant dramatic “emergencies” to pull you in.
Red Flag #8—Beak Faux generosity—gifts, money, or favors to bring your guard down.
After being scammed out of nearly $100,000 by a devious con artist, Walton was turned away by police. Infuriated and armed with the investigative skills he’d gained from years as a TV reporter, Walton launched his own investigation and built a compelling criminal case authorities could not ignore. Walton got his con artist charged, prosecuted, and convicted, then devoted his life to helping other victims do the same. This book packs in all he has learned.
Some con artists scheme for money, some for attention, some just for the thrill of lying. And if you think it can’t happen to you, then you are exactly the kind of “mark” a professional con artist is looking for. With this insightful guide in your hands, you are far less likely to get conned and far more likely to spot these nefarious manipulators from a mile away—and cross the street when you see them coming.
“Johnathan Walton has written a master class on how to spot scammers, con artists, grifters, and thieves. And his storytelling reads like a crime novel. . . . A must-read.”—Joe Navarro, FBI special agent (ret.) and author of the international bestseller Dangerous Personalities
“Some people play golf on the weekends,” Johnathan Walton says. “I hunt con artists.”
Con artists are everywhere—your new boyfriend or girlfriend, your new neighbor or coworker, your new friend—and they don’t outsmart you; they out-feel you to get their hands on your money. In Anatomy of a Con Artist, Walton lays out “the tells” based on hundreds of real-life cases he’s investigated,
Red Flag #1—A Stranger Offering Someone new and overly helpful insinuates themselves into your life.
Red Flag #3—Drama, Drama, Constant dramatic “emergencies” to pull you in.
Red Flag #8—Beak Faux generosity—gifts, money, or favors to bring your guard down.
After being scammed out of nearly $100,000 by a devious con artist, Walton was turned away by police. Infuriated and armed with the investigative skills he’d gained from years as a TV reporter, Walton launched his own investigation and built a compelling criminal case authorities could not ignore. Walton got his con artist charged, prosecuted, and convicted, then devoted his life to helping other victims do the same. This book packs in all he has learned.
Some con artists scheme for money, some for attention, some just for the thrill of lying. And if you think it can’t happen to you, then you are exactly the kind of “mark” a professional con artist is looking for. With this insightful guide in your hands, you are far less likely to get conned and far more likely to spot these nefarious manipulators from a mile away—and cross the street when you see them coming.
248 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 19, 2025
64 people are currently reading
5552 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
March 29, 2025
The first thing worth doing when reading a book like this is to check the credentials of the author.
Jonathan Walton hosts a podcast called “The Queen of the Con: The Irish Heiress,” he’s also a con artist vigilante, who has taken down con artists and he’s also a regional Emmy award winner in the US (source Wikipedia).
This book neatly summarises the things to look out for if someone is trying to con you. These, Walton calls RED FLAGS:
For example:
RED FLAG #1: “I just want to help”.
RED FLAG #4: “Isolation”
RED FLAG #5: “I’m better than you”.
I’ve only listed three of the RED FLAGS – there are fourteen. Each RED FLAG has its own chapter, nicely explained by the author and with several real-life stories to illustrate each one. It’s amazing the gall of some of these con-artists, I don’t know how they do it. They leave a trail of destruction, broken people, and families. It’s horrible.
This is a fascinating read and if you’re interested in this topic you will find this worthwhile.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book, in exchange for my review.
4 Stars
Jonathan Walton hosts a podcast called “The Queen of the Con: The Irish Heiress,” he’s also a con artist vigilante, who has taken down con artists and he’s also a regional Emmy award winner in the US (source Wikipedia).
This book neatly summarises the things to look out for if someone is trying to con you. These, Walton calls RED FLAGS:
For example:
RED FLAG #1: “I just want to help”.
RED FLAG #4: “Isolation”
RED FLAG #5: “I’m better than you”.
I’ve only listed three of the RED FLAGS – there are fourteen. Each RED FLAG has its own chapter, nicely explained by the author and with several real-life stories to illustrate each one. It’s amazing the gall of some of these con-artists, I don’t know how they do it. They leave a trail of destruction, broken people, and families. It’s horrible.
This is a fascinating read and if you’re interested in this topic you will find this worthwhile.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book, in exchange for my review.
4 Stars
April 28, 2025
This feels like it should have been an article. Anatomy of a Con Artist by Johnathan Walton has a few things going for it. True crime is always an easy sell, and Walton is a victim of a con himself. Plus, lists are always fun to peruse on your own time and pick apart.
The actual execution of all of this is pretty flawed, however. Walton immediately raised on eyebrow for me when he says that we can't really trust the "research" (and yes, he used quotes) from scientific studies. Instead, someone like him, who was actually conned, is in a better place to put out this information. Ironically, it makes him sound like a con man.
The organization is also suspect. While breaking down the con artist into 14 red flags sounds good, each of those flags is strangely marked and then mixed up with the long story of Walton's own con. Some red flags are well tagged, like "Too Kind, Too Quick" but another is just tagged as "Technology." Each red flag has an explanation and a story that goes along with it. I found myself wanting to know more about each of these stories, but instead the book then goes into another sub-chapter of Walton's con experience. It all felt like Walton wanted to tell his own story by itself, but it wasn't book length so he added the extra stuff without forming a cohesive narrative. Allusions to past and future podcast projects gave me the feeling that is a sideshow to what is supposed to be the main event.
Walton's writing style also grated on me. He seems to ramp the drama up unnecessarily and says things like, "Do you see where this is going?" As I mentioned, if this was an article and not a book, this wouldn't bother me as much. But a book is much longer, and it begins to feel like you are having your intelligence insulted.
If you don't mind the hodgepodge of information, then you can find some interesting stories in here. I think, though, that like me you will just want to read something that tells those stories specifically.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Rodale Books.)
The actual execution of all of this is pretty flawed, however. Walton immediately raised on eyebrow for me when he says that we can't really trust the "research" (and yes, he used quotes) from scientific studies. Instead, someone like him, who was actually conned, is in a better place to put out this information. Ironically, it makes him sound like a con man.
The organization is also suspect. While breaking down the con artist into 14 red flags sounds good, each of those flags is strangely marked and then mixed up with the long story of Walton's own con. Some red flags are well tagged, like "Too Kind, Too Quick" but another is just tagged as "Technology." Each red flag has an explanation and a story that goes along with it. I found myself wanting to know more about each of these stories, but instead the book then goes into another sub-chapter of Walton's con experience. It all felt like Walton wanted to tell his own story by itself, but it wasn't book length so he added the extra stuff without forming a cohesive narrative. Allusions to past and future podcast projects gave me the feeling that is a sideshow to what is supposed to be the main event.
Walton's writing style also grated on me. He seems to ramp the drama up unnecessarily and says things like, "Do you see where this is going?" As I mentioned, if this was an article and not a book, this wouldn't bother me as much. But a book is much longer, and it begins to feel like you are having your intelligence insulted.
If you don't mind the hodgepodge of information, then you can find some interesting stories in here. I think, though, that like me you will just want to read something that tells those stories specifically.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Rodale Books.)
August 21, 2025
Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves was written as an aid for identifying and protecting oneself from con artists. Walton, himself, was scammed out of nearly $100,000.00 by the person he considered to be his best friend. He was turned away by police when he tried to report it, which infuriated him. Armed with the investigative skills he’d gained from years as a TV reporter, Walton launched his own investigation and built a compelling criminal case authorities could not ignore.
While reading, it felt like many of the chapters about red flags (or about other conned individuals), kept veering back towards the author's personal experiences. I believe some of the repetition about the author's experiences could have been cut to maintain cohesiveness. However, there are some very helpful tips to keep in mind, which I appreciated.
Thank you, #RodaleBooks, for providing Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
While reading, it felt like many of the chapters about red flags (or about other conned individuals), kept veering back towards the author's personal experiences. I believe some of the repetition about the author's experiences could have been cut to maintain cohesiveness. However, there are some very helpful tips to keep in mind, which I appreciated.
Thank you, #RodaleBooks, for providing Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
July 24, 2025
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Aug. 19, 2025
After being taken advantage of by a con artist of his own, Johnathan Walton decided to write a book and tell others what to look out for, and how to avoid being scammed and conned themselves. His non-fiction book, “Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves” is informative and emotional. Not only does Johnathan share his very personal story, using his interactions with his con artist as examples, but he also talks about others who were swindled in other ways, highlighting all the practices con artists share.
This is an absolute must-read for anyone, anywhere (except maybe con artists themselves). There are always going to be some of us that laugh at those who got conned and reassure themselves that they’d “never fall for a con”, but these people, especially, should read Walton’s book. Walton gives plenty of examples of the different ways individuals can infiltrate our lives, eventually taking it over and, maybe most importantly, how to get law enforcement to pay attention and bring con artists to justice.
I was surprised (naively so, I admit) on how many different ways people actively seek out to scam or con others. All the examples Walton provides highlights how very common it is, and how anyone, anywhere, can get scammed at any time, and “Anatomy” is a sure eye-opener.
“Anatomy” was well constructed. Walton started every chapter with a specific red flag (fourteen in all), then he would provide an example of someone else who had been scammed or conned (and how) and then, of course, he would go into detail about his own scam, with each chapter revealing more details about how he was swindled. The book flowed very well and was actually entertaining to read, even if it was terrifying in its honesty.
As Walton admits, most people who have been scammed don’t come forward, due to the embarrassment of admitting this fact. So Walton’s true account speaks to his bravery, and how passionate he is about helping others avoid the same fate. If nothing else, Walton deserves props for taking the oppourtunity that few others do, advocating for not just himself, but for others who reached out to him for assistance.
“Anatomy”, again, is for anyone of any age. Scamming and conning can happen to anyone, regardless of how informed they think they are, and Walton has created a must-read on how to catch a con before it happens. Not only is “Anatomy” relevant and informative, but Walton’s writing is also engaging and fascinating, making this book accessible to everyone.
Expected publication date: Aug. 19, 2025
After being taken advantage of by a con artist of his own, Johnathan Walton decided to write a book and tell others what to look out for, and how to avoid being scammed and conned themselves. His non-fiction book, “Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves” is informative and emotional. Not only does Johnathan share his very personal story, using his interactions with his con artist as examples, but he also talks about others who were swindled in other ways, highlighting all the practices con artists share.
This is an absolute must-read for anyone, anywhere (except maybe con artists themselves). There are always going to be some of us that laugh at those who got conned and reassure themselves that they’d “never fall for a con”, but these people, especially, should read Walton’s book. Walton gives plenty of examples of the different ways individuals can infiltrate our lives, eventually taking it over and, maybe most importantly, how to get law enforcement to pay attention and bring con artists to justice.
I was surprised (naively so, I admit) on how many different ways people actively seek out to scam or con others. All the examples Walton provides highlights how very common it is, and how anyone, anywhere, can get scammed at any time, and “Anatomy” is a sure eye-opener.
“Anatomy” was well constructed. Walton started every chapter with a specific red flag (fourteen in all), then he would provide an example of someone else who had been scammed or conned (and how) and then, of course, he would go into detail about his own scam, with each chapter revealing more details about how he was swindled. The book flowed very well and was actually entertaining to read, even if it was terrifying in its honesty.
As Walton admits, most people who have been scammed don’t come forward, due to the embarrassment of admitting this fact. So Walton’s true account speaks to his bravery, and how passionate he is about helping others avoid the same fate. If nothing else, Walton deserves props for taking the oppourtunity that few others do, advocating for not just himself, but for others who reached out to him for assistance.
“Anatomy”, again, is for anyone of any age. Scamming and conning can happen to anyone, regardless of how informed they think they are, and Walton has created a must-read on how to catch a con before it happens. Not only is “Anatomy” relevant and informative, but Walton’s writing is also engaging and fascinating, making this book accessible to everyone.
November 2, 2025
Johnathan Walton is an American television producer and podcaster who wants the entire world to know he was conned by a woman he knew as Mair Smyth. His 2025 book Anatomy of a Con Artist is largely about his own experience getting conned by Smyth and his extensive efforts to get the justice system to intervene and other cons Smyth has perpetrated. The 14 red flags mentioned in the subtitle are largely repetitive and tie back to the Smyth story, so I'm not sure how generalizable they'd be to describe other con artists. Although this book is already fairly short (256 pages/9 hour audiobook), I felt it could have been substantially shorter without losing any important details.
Further reading: con artists
My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel Deloache Williams
All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud, and Fine Art by Orlando Whitfield
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova
Con/Artist: The Life and Crimes of the World's Greatest Art Forger by Tony Tetro
Scam Me If You Can: Simple Strategies to Outsmart Today's Rip-off Artists by Frank Abagnale
My statistics:
Book 328 for 2025
Book 2254 cumulatively
Further reading: con artists
My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel Deloache Williams
All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud, and Fine Art by Orlando Whitfield
The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time by Maria Konnikova
Con/Artist: The Life and Crimes of the World's Greatest Art Forger by Tony Tetro
Scam Me If You Can: Simple Strategies to Outsmart Today's Rip-off Artists by Frank Abagnale
My statistics:
Book 328 for 2025
Book 2254 cumulatively
March 13, 2025
My best friend wrote this book. I can say this book is a great read — which it is — but you may dismiss my praise based on our history.
So I won’t try to convince you that this is a great read - which it is - not just for the valuable advice Johnathan imparts on how to protect yourself from a con artist, but also how he tells these heartbreaking stories of victims that are duped and lose everything.
Instead, lemme tell you what this book represents. This is a labor of love, and honestly, trauma, that represents a man clawing himself back from financial and emotional ruin. To make sense of his life and find new purpose in the wake of meeting Mair Smyth- a true Queen of the Con.
If you’ve listened to the Queen of the Con podcast - you already know Johnathan Walton is a born storyteller, but this book comes from a place of service. To help people. To prevent others from having to go through what he has — and in many ways — what he’s still going through.
The devastation a con artist can wreak on your life is hard to quantify because it’s a lot more than a dollar sign. It’s a total mind fuck.
At the end of the day - this is a book by the victim of a master con artist and it can help you protect yourself. You may think it could never happen to you.
Well, that’s what everyone says. And yet, somehow, the con artist business is booming. Just trust me — I’ve seen it. You might not know it’s happening until it’s too late.
So I won’t try to convince you that this is a great read - which it is - not just for the valuable advice Johnathan imparts on how to protect yourself from a con artist, but also how he tells these heartbreaking stories of victims that are duped and lose everything.
Instead, lemme tell you what this book represents. This is a labor of love, and honestly, trauma, that represents a man clawing himself back from financial and emotional ruin. To make sense of his life and find new purpose in the wake of meeting Mair Smyth- a true Queen of the Con.
If you’ve listened to the Queen of the Con podcast - you already know Johnathan Walton is a born storyteller, but this book comes from a place of service. To help people. To prevent others from having to go through what he has — and in many ways — what he’s still going through.
The devastation a con artist can wreak on your life is hard to quantify because it’s a lot more than a dollar sign. It’s a total mind fuck.
At the end of the day - this is a book by the victim of a master con artist and it can help you protect yourself. You may think it could never happen to you.
Well, that’s what everyone says. And yet, somehow, the con artist business is booming. Just trust me — I’ve seen it. You might not know it’s happening until it’s too late.
April 6, 2025
Psychological crimes/issues are always intriguing to me. We have seen many scams lately at a macro level in the media (Apple Cider Vinegar, Anna Delvey, Theranos, etc) but what about your everyday people who fall into a trap? In this book, Walton discusses his and others experiences with scammers. What he’s realized is that at their core, these people all pull the same behavior.
I thought this book was very insightful. It described many situations where people were scammed, and even though sometimes I feel like I’d catch a scammer, they really play into your feelings to break you. I think everyone should read this book.
Also, not a bad idea to run a quick background check on people who enter your life. Might seem a lil weird at first but I’ve watched too many true crime stories and listened to too many podcasts.
Thanks Rosalie Books & Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.
I thought this book was very insightful. It described many situations where people were scammed, and even though sometimes I feel like I’d catch a scammer, they really play into your feelings to break you. I think everyone should read this book.
Also, not a bad idea to run a quick background check on people who enter your life. Might seem a lil weird at first but I’ve watched too many true crime stories and listened to too many podcasts.
Thanks Rosalie Books & Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.
August 14, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
2.5 stars.
I thought this was an informative read! It is very short, so if you are interested on getting information on how not to get conned, pick this up. It’s one of those books where you might as well read it if it sounds interesting to you, but it’s not like it’s a MUST read.
Even if you think it won’t happen to you, it helps to at least be aware of red flags that you may be getting conned. That way you can prevent it from happening.
This was super easy to get through and it did have some good tips.
I really do think this book could have just been an article. Walton could just say his tips on how not to be conned and leave it at that. Some people may be interested in the personal stories on who and how they got conned, but I didn’t really care. It showed examples of how these people didn’t see the red flags and fell for the con, but I still feel like I’d rather just read tips with maybe short story examples of personal stories, instead of it filling up the whole chapter with it.
It started off interesting, but as I went along I started to get less and less intrigued.
Some of this book rubbed me the wrong way. Not that it was super bad or anything, just not personally for me. The author seemed very bitter, which I don’t blame him, it sucks to be conned and it is justifiable to be angry. You could really feel his emotion through the book. Which some people may appreciate, but I was expecting a more matter of fact book. I just wasn’t expecting it to be that way so it threw me off.
He seemed harsh against women a little bit too. Sure a lot of the con artists he worked with were women, but it still felt really intense at times. Which is where the strong emotion came from. A line later in the book stated that if a woman said a man was stalking or harassing her, the judge would believe and protect her. He made it sound like a bad thing. Yes in this case he was being falsely accused, but most of the time it’s nearly impossible for people to believe a woman is being stalked or threatened, so that is simply not true. I’m not saying there can’t be liars, like in this case, but most of the time they are telling the truth and not being protected. That is a whole other matter, but that is just one example where I felt he was being too harsh.
Another big point of his book was to not trust anyone. Don’t get me wrong, it is better to be safe than sorry and you shouldn’t always explicitly trust someone, but not everyone who is nice to you or helpful is a con artist. He made it seem like that was the case. Most people aren’t going to think someone is faking text messages or emails. Which may be part of the problem and why people get conned, but to me, life shouldn’t be lived that way. You can be cautious, but not to that extreme. It’s just a pessimistic view on life. I don’t totally blame him, since he was conned, but still. It was hard for me to read that outlook on life.
I think you can be wary once people start asking you for large sums of money, but before then maybe not.
This book seemed a little bit like a ploy to sell himself. Which is fine, get your bank, but there were lots of references to his podcasts and his jobs. Not necessarily a bad thing, but if you don’t want to read about that, just be aware.
It was kind of repetitive at times too. I know he was trying to pull in all the red flags throughout and relate them to what he was talking about, but it got to be a bit much at times.
Also trigger warning for death of animals at the end of chapter 12. That broke my heart completely. I wish it wasn’t in there because I did not need to know that.
If you are looking for the type of book I described in this review you will like it, but if you think you will dislike it based on what I said, I would skip out on this one!
2.5 stars.
I thought this was an informative read! It is very short, so if you are interested on getting information on how not to get conned, pick this up. It’s one of those books where you might as well read it if it sounds interesting to you, but it’s not like it’s a MUST read.
Even if you think it won’t happen to you, it helps to at least be aware of red flags that you may be getting conned. That way you can prevent it from happening.
This was super easy to get through and it did have some good tips.
I really do think this book could have just been an article. Walton could just say his tips on how not to be conned and leave it at that. Some people may be interested in the personal stories on who and how they got conned, but I didn’t really care. It showed examples of how these people didn’t see the red flags and fell for the con, but I still feel like I’d rather just read tips with maybe short story examples of personal stories, instead of it filling up the whole chapter with it.
It started off interesting, but as I went along I started to get less and less intrigued.
Some of this book rubbed me the wrong way. Not that it was super bad or anything, just not personally for me. The author seemed very bitter, which I don’t blame him, it sucks to be conned and it is justifiable to be angry. You could really feel his emotion through the book. Which some people may appreciate, but I was expecting a more matter of fact book. I just wasn’t expecting it to be that way so it threw me off.
He seemed harsh against women a little bit too. Sure a lot of the con artists he worked with were women, but it still felt really intense at times. Which is where the strong emotion came from. A line later in the book stated that if a woman said a man was stalking or harassing her, the judge would believe and protect her. He made it sound like a bad thing. Yes in this case he was being falsely accused, but most of the time it’s nearly impossible for people to believe a woman is being stalked or threatened, so that is simply not true. I’m not saying there can’t be liars, like in this case, but most of the time they are telling the truth and not being protected. That is a whole other matter, but that is just one example where I felt he was being too harsh.
Another big point of his book was to not trust anyone. Don’t get me wrong, it is better to be safe than sorry and you shouldn’t always explicitly trust someone, but not everyone who is nice to you or helpful is a con artist. He made it seem like that was the case. Most people aren’t going to think someone is faking text messages or emails. Which may be part of the problem and why people get conned, but to me, life shouldn’t be lived that way. You can be cautious, but not to that extreme. It’s just a pessimistic view on life. I don’t totally blame him, since he was conned, but still. It was hard for me to read that outlook on life.
I think you can be wary once people start asking you for large sums of money, but before then maybe not.
This book seemed a little bit like a ploy to sell himself. Which is fine, get your bank, but there were lots of references to his podcasts and his jobs. Not necessarily a bad thing, but if you don’t want to read about that, just be aware.
It was kind of repetitive at times too. I know he was trying to pull in all the red flags throughout and relate them to what he was talking about, but it got to be a bit much at times.
Also trigger warning for death of animals at the end of chapter 12. That broke my heart completely. I wish it wasn’t in there because I did not need to know that.
If you are looking for the type of book I described in this review you will like it, but if you think you will dislike it based on what I said, I would skip out on this one!
May 27, 2025
This is one book everyone should read.
Johnathan Wilson, TV producer in LA, was good friends with a neighbor in his apartment building. He was shocked to learn the hard way that she was a professional con artist who cleverly asked him as well as many others for money – lots of it. His experience and knowledge outlines how to spot a scammer with “14 red flags.”
Years ago, people had trust in each other for the most part and then there was the internet which changed everything. Now technology is a huge concern. We know not to return e-mails from someone in Nigeria. However, he said it’s now possible for scammers to call from any country and make it appear as if it’s a family member with their actual phone number. He said AI can sound like anyone you may know.
This book has some hair-raising stories that may give you chills for what has happened to people simply wanting to help others. He said sometimes it’s a loved one or someone you’ve known for years who will ask for money.
Often times, people don’t say a word about it as it’s embarrassing. I know as it happened to someone in my extended family years ago when $100,000 went into the hands of a con artist. She checked off many of the red-flag categories.
The book is informative with first-hand experience from being scanned to sending the criminal to jail. It’s a quick book to read. It may save you or others from being a target.
My thanks to Rodale Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of August 19, 2025.
Johnathan Wilson, TV producer in LA, was good friends with a neighbor in his apartment building. He was shocked to learn the hard way that she was a professional con artist who cleverly asked him as well as many others for money – lots of it. His experience and knowledge outlines how to spot a scammer with “14 red flags.”
Years ago, people had trust in each other for the most part and then there was the internet which changed everything. Now technology is a huge concern. We know not to return e-mails from someone in Nigeria. However, he said it’s now possible for scammers to call from any country and make it appear as if it’s a family member with their actual phone number. He said AI can sound like anyone you may know.
This book has some hair-raising stories that may give you chills for what has happened to people simply wanting to help others. He said sometimes it’s a loved one or someone you’ve known for years who will ask for money.
Often times, people don’t say a word about it as it’s embarrassing. I know as it happened to someone in my extended family years ago when $100,000 went into the hands of a con artist. She checked off many of the red-flag categories.
The book is informative with first-hand experience from being scanned to sending the criminal to jail. It’s a quick book to read. It may save you or others from being a target.
My thanks to Rodale Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of August 19, 2025.
January 2, 2026
Was a podcast, and for me that’s what it should have stayed.
December 26, 2025
if ur really in dire straits u can just read the first 10 pages of this book & you’ll have basically read the whole thing
November 26, 2025
Wow! This isn't the type of book I usually pick up, but I couldn't put it down! I was invited to read it, and I’m so glad I downloaded it. This is a must-read for everyone, especially since I frequently come across new scams while scrolling through Instagram. In today's world dominated by AI, it's tough to keep pace with some of the elaborate scams out there. These scammers might have legitimate jobs, but their main focus seems to be scamming you!
Johnathan Walton, a former victim of con artists who now helps others identify and avoid scams. In this book, he outlines key red flags to spot potential scammers. After being scammed out of nearly $100,000 and initially dismissed by police, Walton conducted his own investigation, leading to the prosecution of his con artist. His guide aims to educate readers on identifying and protecting themselves from con artists, emphasizing the importance of awareness in avoiding becoming a target.
The book is easy to read and incredibly eye-opening! It highlights 14 red flags that new acquaintances—whether colleagues or friends—might display, so be sure to pay attention and take notes. The value packed into this book is immense, especially the insights from a firsthand victim that truly leave you stunned.
We learn about Jonathan’s experience with his scammer, who was once his best friend, and he carefully outlines how the warning signs began to appear gradually. Toward the end, you'll discover how everything gets resolved. In addition to his case, Jonathan shares stories from other people who reached out to him through his online platform to prevent others from falling victim to similar scams. The writing is straightforward and to the point, so you can easily finish this book in a day.
I especially appreciate that Jonathan offers some helpful tips at the end about what to do if you find yourself scammed or if your credit gets compromised. The information in this book is invaluable and resonates deeply with me, as I too experienced being scammed for over $3,000 when I first arrived in the U.S. At the time, I was told there was nothing I could do. Having this book in my hands would have made a world of difference because, with the red flags outlined, I could have avoided that situation altogether. I sincerely hope you read this or consider gifting it to an elderly person or a friend. This is truly valuable information, everyone!
Thank you, Rodale Books, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Johnathan Walton, a former victim of con artists who now helps others identify and avoid scams. In this book, he outlines key red flags to spot potential scammers. After being scammed out of nearly $100,000 and initially dismissed by police, Walton conducted his own investigation, leading to the prosecution of his con artist. His guide aims to educate readers on identifying and protecting themselves from con artists, emphasizing the importance of awareness in avoiding becoming a target.
The book is easy to read and incredibly eye-opening! It highlights 14 red flags that new acquaintances—whether colleagues or friends—might display, so be sure to pay attention and take notes. The value packed into this book is immense, especially the insights from a firsthand victim that truly leave you stunned.
We learn about Jonathan’s experience with his scammer, who was once his best friend, and he carefully outlines how the warning signs began to appear gradually. Toward the end, you'll discover how everything gets resolved. In addition to his case, Jonathan shares stories from other people who reached out to him through his online platform to prevent others from falling victim to similar scams. The writing is straightforward and to the point, so you can easily finish this book in a day.
I especially appreciate that Jonathan offers some helpful tips at the end about what to do if you find yourself scammed or if your credit gets compromised. The information in this book is invaluable and resonates deeply with me, as I too experienced being scammed for over $3,000 when I first arrived in the U.S. At the time, I was told there was nothing I could do. Having this book in my hands would have made a world of difference because, with the red flags outlined, I could have avoided that situation altogether. I sincerely hope you read this or consider gifting it to an elderly person or a friend. This is truly valuable information, everyone!
Thank you, Rodale Books, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
June 15, 2025
Good information, and it is interesting to read about various con artists and their scams - but I found the writing to be too conversational / too casual.
Advanced reading copy provided by Edelweiss+ and the publisher. Publication date Aug 19, 2025.
Advanced reading copy provided by Edelweiss+ and the publisher. Publication date Aug 19, 2025.
December 12, 2025
Johnathan Walton never expected to be targeted by a con artist, but when his apartment building lost its pool he wanted to meet with other neighbors to work together to get their pool access back. That's when he met Mair Smyth and she quickly inserted herself into his life. He thought they were good friends until he realized she was a con artist and had conned him out of close to $100,000. But Walton didn't tuck his tail between his legs in shame and embarrassment - he got loud. He created a blog and ended up finding several other victims of Mair and eventually brought a criminal case against her. After being conned himself, Walton started helping other con victims get justice. In doing so he realized there are several red flags that con artists use to find and con victims. And that's where this book comes in, he wants to share with the world the Anatomy of a Con Artist to try to help people avoid being scammed or get justice if they have been scammed.
I agree with some of the reviews that I read that the book is a little repetitive. Each chapter tells the story of someone who's been conned that Walton helped and part of his own story of being conned by Mair Smyth. So there is a lot of reiteration around the red flags in each chapter. And honestly, any one of the red flags he talks about alone wouldn't be enough to be suspicious. But these red flags together or combined with other gut feelings or logic-defying situations could point to a con artist. The biggest downfall of honest people is that you assume other people are honest as well - and con artists count on that. This book wasn't amazing, but it was interesting and I definitely admire the lengths Walton went to to get Mair Smyth prosecuted and to help other victims.
I agree with some of the reviews that I read that the book is a little repetitive. Each chapter tells the story of someone who's been conned that Walton helped and part of his own story of being conned by Mair Smyth. So there is a lot of reiteration around the red flags in each chapter. And honestly, any one of the red flags he talks about alone wouldn't be enough to be suspicious. But these red flags together or combined with other gut feelings or logic-defying situations could point to a con artist. The biggest downfall of honest people is that you assume other people are honest as well - and con artists count on that. This book wasn't amazing, but it was interesting and I definitely admire the lengths Walton went to to get Mair Smyth prosecuted and to help other victims.
August 31, 2025
I did not particularly enjoy this book. However I think it’s really eye-opening and a great overview of the indicators of a con artist. Apparently if you are already a fan and listen to his podcast this book is an overview of the stories told on the podcast. And he has found consistent threads throughout that he has identified as the 15 red flags you are getting conned. I have not listened to his podcast so this was all new to me. And I realize I was able to avoid a very similar con to one of the ones he spoke about in here but had this book been out, I may have been able to stop one of my friends from losing a lot of money. I noticed some inconsistencies and my Spidey senses were up but I didn’t have anything concrete to point to other than logic. I think it’s an important topic we all have to be educated on in this day and age- and I found his navigation of the legal side of getting scammed really interesting and I think he shared some good tips and encouragement.
October 5, 2025
interesting read and each story was fascinating. could have used a stronger hand editing but overall not bad
December 3, 2025
His personal story was interesting. I’m glad he was able to get justice, but what I didn’t read was any personal reflection of his wild amount of privilege intertwined throughout the story. It also still seems like he’s baffled by the broken justice system and police who didn’t care. Kind sir…even when a violent crime is committed, it takes an inordinate amount of effort, more privilege, and education for it to proceed through the court system. I’m not sure why this is still so baffling to upper class men. Heteronormative or not.
January 13, 2025
TV producer Johnathan Walton shares the fourteen red flags to help you spot a scammer before you get fleeced. With detailed stories and concrete advice, he tells the reader exactly what to look for. So many people think they could never be fooled, but then they are. Walton himself was scammed out of thousands of dollars. Besides his day job, he now helps people who have been scammed and hosts a podcasts about what happened to him. His story is interspersed with the chapters about each red flag. In a clear and compelling voice, Walton shares both emotion and instruction.
August 1, 2025
STOP TRYING
June 3, 2025
*well-written and informative
*heavily researched with easy to follow guidance
*highly recommend
*heavily researched with easy to follow guidance
*highly recommend
September 24, 2025
First, thank you to Rodale Books for the opportunity to win an ARC copy through a Goodreads giveaway!
Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves is an informative and easily digestible read that offers readers helpful tips to avoid being scammed. As the title states, the book is divided into 14 chapters that describe common behaviors of con artists, provide real life case studies of those behaviors in action, and end with commentary from the author's personal experience falling prey to a con artist that scammed him of over $100,000.
As a cybersecurity professional for over a decade, I was and am familiar with some of Johnathan's red flags, including using technology to convince or confuse people, creating false urgency to encourage action instead of thought, and insisting on wiring money. I have heard from many people scammed into sending money or gift cards to overseas scam artists, but Johnathan Walton does a fantastic job outlining how you can recognize combinations of red flags in people you meet.
Lastly, Walton provides sound and practical guidance on how to mitigate scams and how to report con artists to law enforcement. I recommend this book for anyone interested in how con artists operate, or those looking to reduce their susceptibility to scammers through Walton's helpful tips.
Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves is an informative and easily digestible read that offers readers helpful tips to avoid being scammed. As the title states, the book is divided into 14 chapters that describe common behaviors of con artists, provide real life case studies of those behaviors in action, and end with commentary from the author's personal experience falling prey to a con artist that scammed him of over $100,000.
As a cybersecurity professional for over a decade, I was and am familiar with some of Johnathan's red flags, including using technology to convince or confuse people, creating false urgency to encourage action instead of thought, and insisting on wiring money. I have heard from many people scammed into sending money or gift cards to overseas scam artists, but Johnathan Walton does a fantastic job outlining how you can recognize combinations of red flags in people you meet.
Lastly, Walton provides sound and practical guidance on how to mitigate scams and how to report con artists to law enforcement. I recommend this book for anyone interested in how con artists operate, or those looking to reduce their susceptibility to scammers through Walton's helpful tips.
October 16, 2025
This was surprisingly good. It was an interesting topic, something I had never read about, and I was largely impressed. It will definitely hit harder for people who have been scammed. I have no doubt that is a very isolating incident where you just feel dirty, wronged, and embarrassed and don't know what to do about it. This author does a great job of taking some of the stigma off these victims, and helps show they are not alone.
The book loses steam about 150 pages in. Some of the red flags seem harder to explain, or to just repeat what he already said, or even to only be red flags at certain times. I'll go through them in a spoiler section below.
He also ends up really only grinding the axe against his scammer. That becomes the entire focus by the end, and he probably shares far too much about her and his story. It stops being about how to identify scammers and focuses exclusively on how he got back at his scammer.
He also, and this is the opinion that everyone will hate, he also fails to be introspective. All of his advice is for how to avoid scammers, but he never gives advice on how to be smarter with your money.
Some of these scam are just straight up identity theft. They didn't con anyone, they just bought your information off the dark web, that's not your fault and typically there are systems in place to help (not great ones, but there are steps to take).
A lot of these scams are "get rich quick" schemes that people fell for, if something sounds too good to be true it usually is. You probably shouldn't borrow money from everyone you know to send the money to Jamaica, or buy unknown real estate.
Scammers certainly seem to take advantage of the hurting, the insecure, people in their weakest moments. We should probably worry more about our family members, our elderly family and friends.
A lot of these scams are people just having bad money sense. I can feel for somebody, I can be sympathetic and give them an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on without ever taking out a second mortgage to give them money. I can't think of anybody, or anything they could say, that would make me give them permission to charge $66,000 to my credit cards.
I get it, your heart is making decisions, not your head, but she can use her promised inheritance story at a bank to get a lone, she doesn't need me to empty my bank account. I would hope any victim would take a second look at themselves and maybe wise up a little.
Instead of blaming the system and wishing these people were no longer allowed to have bank accounts, maybe take a look in the mirror. The proverb says, "a fool and his money are soon parted."
Without that introspection, it just became very sad stories, people trying to look for something after the fact as opposed to having a little more common sense.
Red Flags:
A lot of these build on each other, a lot of these tend to read like repeats. The book just kind of runs out of steam. He had plenty of stories about people getting scammed and the incredible lengths people went to to pull off these scams. Some of them were unbelievable, I wouldn't have blamed anyone for falling for the tinder date and the team of actors and websites.
The man had lots of fascinating stories where I learned a ton.
Instead of running background checks on new people in your life, maybe don't give people large sums of money . . . period (give to church, verified charitable causes, or even a local non-profit, the local library would love a donation to buy some extra books, and can do a lot to help people). If nothing else, only give money you can afford to lose, maybe not maxing out credit cards and taking out new mortgages.
That being said, if you are scammed I think he is right, you should push back and try to fight. Help others by demanding that these people are brought to justice.
This was well worth the read.
The book loses steam about 150 pages in. Some of the red flags seem harder to explain, or to just repeat what he already said, or even to only be red flags at certain times. I'll go through them in a spoiler section below.
He also ends up really only grinding the axe against his scammer. That becomes the entire focus by the end, and he probably shares far too much about her and his story. It stops being about how to identify scammers and focuses exclusively on how he got back at his scammer.
He also, and this is the opinion that everyone will hate, he also fails to be introspective. All of his advice is for how to avoid scammers, but he never gives advice on how to be smarter with your money.
Some of these scam are just straight up identity theft. They didn't con anyone, they just bought your information off the dark web, that's not your fault and typically there are systems in place to help (not great ones, but there are steps to take).
A lot of these scams are "get rich quick" schemes that people fell for, if something sounds too good to be true it usually is. You probably shouldn't borrow money from everyone you know to send the money to Jamaica, or buy unknown real estate.
Scammers certainly seem to take advantage of the hurting, the insecure, people in their weakest moments. We should probably worry more about our family members, our elderly family and friends.
A lot of these scams are people just having bad money sense. I can feel for somebody, I can be sympathetic and give them an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on without ever taking out a second mortgage to give them money. I can't think of anybody, or anything they could say, that would make me give them permission to charge $66,000 to my credit cards.
I get it, your heart is making decisions, not your head, but she can use her promised inheritance story at a bank to get a lone, she doesn't need me to empty my bank account. I would hope any victim would take a second look at themselves and maybe wise up a little.
Instead of blaming the system and wishing these people were no longer allowed to have bank accounts, maybe take a look in the mirror. The proverb says, "a fool and his money are soon parted."
Without that introspection, it just became very sad stories, people trying to look for something after the fact as opposed to having a little more common sense.
Red Flags:
A lot of these build on each other, a lot of these tend to read like repeats. The book just kind of runs out of steam. He had plenty of stories about people getting scammed and the incredible lengths people went to to pull off these scams. Some of them were unbelievable, I wouldn't have blamed anyone for falling for the tinder date and the team of actors and websites.
The man had lots of fascinating stories where I learned a ton.
Instead of running background checks on new people in your life, maybe don't give people large sums of money . . . period (give to church, verified charitable causes, or even a local non-profit, the local library would love a donation to buy some extra books, and can do a lot to help people). If nothing else, only give money you can afford to lose, maybe not maxing out credit cards and taking out new mortgages.
That being said, if you are scammed I think he is right, you should push back and try to fight. Help others by demanding that these people are brought to justice.
This was well worth the read.
August 22, 2025
The art of the con is just as much a part of human nature as the need for food, shelter, water, and clothing. People have been attempting to get something for nothing or get by with something since humans have been contemplating the meaning of life. In Anatomy Of A Con Artist (New York: Rodale Books, 2025, xvi, 240pgs, $28US, $37.99CAN), author and podcaster Johnathan Walton, himself a victim of a con artist, describes the fourteen different red flags that con artists will exhibit when they are attempting to take advantage of an unsuspecting neighbor or colleague. Walton discusses how important it is for us to recognize these red flags and what to do if we get involved with a potential con artist. Walton brings examples of real people who have been conned to life in order to support each red flag.
Con artists, Walton relates, can exhibit the behavior that they most need in order to gain a foothold in the lives of people they are wanting to scam. These behaviors can range from being extra friendly, to experiencing the same kinds of illness or trauma that their victims have been through, and having similar, if not shared, backgrounds. Many times, con artists identify their victims through opportunities to take advantage of their vulnerabilities. Con artists are quick to determine the best avenue for gaining entry into their victims’ world and once they have made entry, quick to determine their chosen con, and quick to depart if they think the victims have figured them out. Con artists do not scam one individual or one family, but rather scam multiple people, usually across multiple cities and states, until they are caught.
Anatomy Of A Con Artist reads like a how-to manual for spotting con artists and what to do if the reader ever becomes involved with someone who may not be who they claim to be. As mentioned earlier, Walton writes with detail about people who have been scammed and have reached out to him for advice. Walton uses his own encounter with a con artist who claimed to be descended from Irish royalty. This person had moved into Waltons’ building and became part of his life during a fight to regain an amenity that the tenants had lost. The con artist worked their way into Waltons’ inner circle over a period of four years. Walton was scammed out of a large amount of money and when the con artist was discovered and jailed, Walton was told that getting his money back would be extremely difficult.
Therein lies the difficulty with recovering from becoming involved with a con artist. The victim will always find it extremely hard to recoup their losses. Many times the con artist has scammed the victim in order to pay someone else that they are conning. These convoluted attempts to maintain the appearance of legitimacy will result in a web so tangled that years can go by before the victim sees any restitution, if they see any at all. Anatomy Of A Con Artist does an excellent job of detailing the elaborate nature of many cons. Anyone interested in how criminals think, how criminals manipulate, and criminals seem, in many instances, to get away with their crimes, would do well to read and learn from Anatomy Of A Con Artist.
Matthew
Anatomy of a Con Artist
Johnathan Walton
Rodale Books
penguinrandomhouse.com
ISBN 9780593797167 xvi 240pgs. $27US $37.99CAN $13.99 Kindle
Con artists, Walton relates, can exhibit the behavior that they most need in order to gain a foothold in the lives of people they are wanting to scam. These behaviors can range from being extra friendly, to experiencing the same kinds of illness or trauma that their victims have been through, and having similar, if not shared, backgrounds. Many times, con artists identify their victims through opportunities to take advantage of their vulnerabilities. Con artists are quick to determine the best avenue for gaining entry into their victims’ world and once they have made entry, quick to determine their chosen con, and quick to depart if they think the victims have figured them out. Con artists do not scam one individual or one family, but rather scam multiple people, usually across multiple cities and states, until they are caught.
Anatomy Of A Con Artist reads like a how-to manual for spotting con artists and what to do if the reader ever becomes involved with someone who may not be who they claim to be. As mentioned earlier, Walton writes with detail about people who have been scammed and have reached out to him for advice. Walton uses his own encounter with a con artist who claimed to be descended from Irish royalty. This person had moved into Waltons’ building and became part of his life during a fight to regain an amenity that the tenants had lost. The con artist worked their way into Waltons’ inner circle over a period of four years. Walton was scammed out of a large amount of money and when the con artist was discovered and jailed, Walton was told that getting his money back would be extremely difficult.
Therein lies the difficulty with recovering from becoming involved with a con artist. The victim will always find it extremely hard to recoup their losses. Many times the con artist has scammed the victim in order to pay someone else that they are conning. These convoluted attempts to maintain the appearance of legitimacy will result in a web so tangled that years can go by before the victim sees any restitution, if they see any at all. Anatomy Of A Con Artist does an excellent job of detailing the elaborate nature of many cons. Anyone interested in how criminals think, how criminals manipulate, and criminals seem, in many instances, to get away with their crimes, would do well to read and learn from Anatomy Of A Con Artist.
Matthew
Anatomy of a Con Artist
Johnathan Walton
Rodale Books
penguinrandomhouse.com
ISBN 9780593797167 xvi 240pgs. $27US $37.99CAN $13.99 Kindle
February 6, 2025
This book is amazing. The author, Johnathan Walton, co-created and hosted the Queen of the Con podcast, where he described how he was conned by a woman he believed was his friend. In Anatomy of a Con Artist, he recaps the Queen of the Con story along with several other stories about people conned out of their life savings by grifters (some of these were very sad and hard to read). An important point he makes, over and over: the system is not set up to protect you from con artists. You have to be careful, and if you do get conned you have to be persuasive and persistent to even get someone in law enforcement to listen to you.
He also provides a list of 14 red flags to watch out for in hopes that people who read the book will be able to protect themselves. Many of them are similar to the warnings you hear about other predators. We want to believe that con artists are "out there" somewhere, sketchy people ten thousand miles away sending spam emails. The reality is, they're often people we went to high school with, neighbors, friends of friends. They know how to love bomb people to win their affection, ply them with secrets to earn their trust, and they rarely ask for money right away. Some of them will woo you for years before they start to cash in. Most importantly, according to Walton, they don't out-think you, they out-feel you. They will identify your triggers and play on your emotions to earn your trust.
This type of thing comes up with criminals of all kinds. Ted Bundy was able to lure women to their doom because he played on their sympathies with fake injuries and relied on the fact that people tend to be polite and nice when interacting with strangers. Child predators often hold positions of trust and manipulate parents in addition to their victims. While creeps in white vans do exist, most people who are abused are abused by someone they know and trusted.
It is clear that the author of Anatomy of a Con Artist knows how to tell a story; I was not at all surprised to learn he was a reality TV producer before he started podcasting. Filled with jaw dropping stories and helpful advice, this book is much more than the "slightly more in-depth version of my podcast" that I expected to find when I picked it up. Read this, especially if you hear about scam stories and think it could never happen to you.
He also provides a list of 14 red flags to watch out for in hopes that people who read the book will be able to protect themselves. Many of them are similar to the warnings you hear about other predators. We want to believe that con artists are "out there" somewhere, sketchy people ten thousand miles away sending spam emails. The reality is, they're often people we went to high school with, neighbors, friends of friends. They know how to love bomb people to win their affection, ply them with secrets to earn their trust, and they rarely ask for money right away. Some of them will woo you for years before they start to cash in. Most importantly, according to Walton, they don't out-think you, they out-feel you. They will identify your triggers and play on your emotions to earn your trust.
This type of thing comes up with criminals of all kinds. Ted Bundy was able to lure women to their doom because he played on their sympathies with fake injuries and relied on the fact that people tend to be polite and nice when interacting with strangers. Child predators often hold positions of trust and manipulate parents in addition to their victims. While creeps in white vans do exist, most people who are abused are abused by someone they know and trusted.
It is clear that the author of Anatomy of a Con Artist knows how to tell a story; I was not at all surprised to learn he was a reality TV producer before he started podcasting. Filled with jaw dropping stories and helpful advice, this book is much more than the "slightly more in-depth version of my podcast" that I expected to find when I picked it up. Read this, especially if you hear about scam stories and think it could never happen to you.
July 19, 2025
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
🕶️ Johnathan Walton doesn’t just write about con artists—he hunts them. In Anatomy of a Con Artist, the Emmy-winning TV producer and host of the hit podcast Queen of the Con transforms personal trauma into public service, offering readers a street-smart, emotionally charged guide to spotting deception before it drains your bank account—or your trust in humanity.
📘 What It’s About
After being swindled out of nearly $100,000 by a master manipulator, Walton turned vigilante, building a criminal case that led to conviction. This book distills his hard-earned wisdom into 14 red flags—behavioral patterns and psychological tactics used by scammers to infiltrate lives and exploit emotions. From faux generosity (“Beak Wetting”) to relentless drama, each chapter unpacks a tactic with gripping real-life examples and actionable advice.
🔍 What Makes It Stand Out
- Narrative Punch: Walton’s storytelling reads like a crime thriller—fast-paced, emotionally raw, and laced with dark humor.
- Emotional Intelligence: He emphasizes that con artists don’t outsmart you—they out-feel you. This insight reframes manipulation as emotional warfare.
- Victim-Centered Perspective: Walton’s empathy for fellow victims is palpable. He doesn’t shame—he empowers.
- Practical Tools: Each red flag is paired with real-world scenarios and reflection prompts, making the book feel like a psychological toolkit.
🧠 Themes That Resonate
- Trust & Vulnerability: The book explores how our need for connection can be weaponized—and how awareness can be armor.
- Justice Through Storytelling: Walton’s journey from victim to advocate shows how narrative can be a form of resistance.
- Emotional Literacy: Readers learn to decode manipulation not just intellectually, but emotionally.
🚨 Anatomy of a Con Artist is part memoir, part manual, and all heart. It’s a wake-up call wrapped in gripping prose—a must-read for anyone who’s ever trusted too quickly, doubted too slowly, or wondered how good people get conned. Walton doesn’t just expose the tricks—he teaches you how to see through them.
🕶️ Johnathan Walton doesn’t just write about con artists—he hunts them. In Anatomy of a Con Artist, the Emmy-winning TV producer and host of the hit podcast Queen of the Con transforms personal trauma into public service, offering readers a street-smart, emotionally charged guide to spotting deception before it drains your bank account—or your trust in humanity.
📘 What It’s About
After being swindled out of nearly $100,000 by a master manipulator, Walton turned vigilante, building a criminal case that led to conviction. This book distills his hard-earned wisdom into 14 red flags—behavioral patterns and psychological tactics used by scammers to infiltrate lives and exploit emotions. From faux generosity (“Beak Wetting”) to relentless drama, each chapter unpacks a tactic with gripping real-life examples and actionable advice.
🔍 What Makes It Stand Out
- Narrative Punch: Walton’s storytelling reads like a crime thriller—fast-paced, emotionally raw, and laced with dark humor.
- Emotional Intelligence: He emphasizes that con artists don’t outsmart you—they out-feel you. This insight reframes manipulation as emotional warfare.
- Victim-Centered Perspective: Walton’s empathy for fellow victims is palpable. He doesn’t shame—he empowers.
- Practical Tools: Each red flag is paired with real-world scenarios and reflection prompts, making the book feel like a psychological toolkit.
🧠 Themes That Resonate
- Trust & Vulnerability: The book explores how our need for connection can be weaponized—and how awareness can be armor.
- Justice Through Storytelling: Walton’s journey from victim to advocate shows how narrative can be a form of resistance.
- Emotional Literacy: Readers learn to decode manipulation not just intellectually, but emotionally.
🚨 Anatomy of a Con Artist is part memoir, part manual, and all heart. It’s a wake-up call wrapped in gripping prose—a must-read for anyone who’s ever trusted too quickly, doubted too slowly, or wondered how good people get conned. Walton doesn’t just expose the tricks—he teaches you how to see through them.
August 5, 2025
4 stars
What an incredibly wild ride. One important lesson I learned from this book - and there were many - is that revenge can sometimes best be served cold. Walton is dishing it UP by informing the masses about the ways in which his scammer terrorized him in an effort to help the rest of us spot and avoid a similar fate. A scammer wronged him, and he will rightfully never let her forget it.
Walton mixes multiple signs of a scammer with his own personal experience. It is riveting to learn how an intelligent and relatively savvy person was (from an external perspective) easily conned out of a great deal of money and pride. A highlight of this book is the way that Walton talks about his own experiences and the roller coaster of emotions he's faced. I think many folks may get caught up with the rage they'd feel (reasonable) and do not necessarily think about the humiliation or even feelings of loss around what felt like a close personal relationship. Walton's willingness to reveal his vulnerability makes this a much richer read and definitely made me empathize with him when - transparently - a less informed version of me might have been judging him.
Another highlight? Learning about the different examples of scams and scammers Walton has now uncovered as he has proceeded on his quest to expose, rectify, and protect. I worked for a public agency many years ago that received a shocking number of complaints from elderly people about ways in which they'd been scammed, and it was both sad and terrifying. While scammers are definitely part of the zeitgeist right now, I don't think most of us associate them with the way they actually operate. Walton provides many great tips on what to look for, avoid, and do, making this both a compelling read and a useful one.
I'm very sorry about what happened to Walton and to the numerous others he references throughout this book, but I'm grateful that he took the time to share his insider info with the rest of us.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Julia Diaz-Young at Rodale Books for this widget, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
What an incredibly wild ride. One important lesson I learned from this book - and there were many - is that revenge can sometimes best be served cold. Walton is dishing it UP by informing the masses about the ways in which his scammer terrorized him in an effort to help the rest of us spot and avoid a similar fate. A scammer wronged him, and he will rightfully never let her forget it.
Walton mixes multiple signs of a scammer with his own personal experience. It is riveting to learn how an intelligent and relatively savvy person was (from an external perspective) easily conned out of a great deal of money and pride. A highlight of this book is the way that Walton talks about his own experiences and the roller coaster of emotions he's faced. I think many folks may get caught up with the rage they'd feel (reasonable) and do not necessarily think about the humiliation or even feelings of loss around what felt like a close personal relationship. Walton's willingness to reveal his vulnerability makes this a much richer read and definitely made me empathize with him when - transparently - a less informed version of me might have been judging him.
Another highlight? Learning about the different examples of scams and scammers Walton has now uncovered as he has proceeded on his quest to expose, rectify, and protect. I worked for a public agency many years ago that received a shocking number of complaints from elderly people about ways in which they'd been scammed, and it was both sad and terrifying. While scammers are definitely part of the zeitgeist right now, I don't think most of us associate them with the way they actually operate. Walton provides many great tips on what to look for, avoid, and do, making this both a compelling read and a useful one.
I'm very sorry about what happened to Walton and to the numerous others he references throughout this book, but I'm grateful that he took the time to share his insider info with the rest of us.
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Julia Diaz-Young at Rodale Books for this widget, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
December 12, 2025
Words can’t express how much I loved this book. The authors are a linguist and a sociologist, and one worked for Google’s ethics department. Like many jobs, mine is trying to shove AI down our throats, and the more I use it, the more I realize what it is and isn’t. It scares the hell out of me how our whole economy is being propped up by this idea that AI is something that it’s definitely not, but uneducated people just hear “AI” and think it’s already at this insane level that we’re nowhere near.
This book helps dispel all the nonsense going around about AI. The main myth about AI is that it’s this “thinking” thing, when it’s not. I’ve read a lot of books on consciousness, and even with all these years of research, we’re nowhere near understanding human consciousness, but the tech oligarchs would have you believe that AI is already there. The authors really do a great job of explaining that AI is no more than a system that’s able to automate tasks. Don’t get me wrong, AI is a super helpful tool, but the majority of people think it’s something it’s not.
Aside from that, there are a ton of issues with AI and automation. The authors discuss how these systems have an insane amount of bias, harming people of color, women, and other minorities.
The thing I loved the most about this book is how it talks about the rich, AI hype people and then the rich AI doomers. It’s been super confusing seeing people like Elon Musk do all these interviews talking about how AI is going to destroy humanity while he’s also dumping billions into the technology. The authors explain how both the AI hype people and the doomers have the same goal, and that’s to get stupid rich off AI, while we receive minimal benefits.
I could go on and on about this. But at the end of the day, if you understand anything about capitalism, just know that every company is trying to figure out how to replace you so they can increase profit margins, regardless of what your job is. In addition to that, it’s destroying the planet and making mental illness worse. These authors cover all these topics and more, making this book a must-read.
This book helps dispel all the nonsense going around about AI. The main myth about AI is that it’s this “thinking” thing, when it’s not. I’ve read a lot of books on consciousness, and even with all these years of research, we’re nowhere near understanding human consciousness, but the tech oligarchs would have you believe that AI is already there. The authors really do a great job of explaining that AI is no more than a system that’s able to automate tasks. Don’t get me wrong, AI is a super helpful tool, but the majority of people think it’s something it’s not.
Aside from that, there are a ton of issues with AI and automation. The authors discuss how these systems have an insane amount of bias, harming people of color, women, and other minorities.
The thing I loved the most about this book is how it talks about the rich, AI hype people and then the rich AI doomers. It’s been super confusing seeing people like Elon Musk do all these interviews talking about how AI is going to destroy humanity while he’s also dumping billions into the technology. The authors explain how both the AI hype people and the doomers have the same goal, and that’s to get stupid rich off AI, while we receive minimal benefits.
I could go on and on about this. But at the end of the day, if you understand anything about capitalism, just know that every company is trying to figure out how to replace you so they can increase profit margins, regardless of what your job is. In addition to that, it’s destroying the planet and making mental illness worse. These authors cover all these topics and more, making this book a must-read.
September 11, 2025
A very practical and readable book in which the author provides 14 red flags that con artists use to scam their victims. Each chapter highlights each of the red flags with real life examples of con artists using them.
If the author didn’t say this once he said it a half dozen times: Con artists don’t outsmart you. They out-fool you. After reading this book that is oh so true.
There are certainly a lot of rotten people out there and it is so easy to let your guard down, especially when con artists are so convincing and great at what they do. They know they have to earn the victim!s trust, and also know so many victims don’t want to be rude and cut them off when they should.
The author’s persistent attempts at bringing his scammer to justice was so fitting especially given his description of policemen dismissing his complaints (and those of other victims) as “not being a criminal act”. That was very disappointing when police ask the victims of such heinous crimes to take their complaints to a civil court instead of filing a criminal complaint. Kudos for the author being prepared and not taking no for an answer. He knew that the con artists fully expect the victims to not say anything to the police which keeps the scammers in business. Hopefully police take these crimes now more seriously now and in the future.
This is a very good and important book that everyone should read to learn the red flags of con artists.
If the author didn’t say this once he said it a half dozen times: Con artists don’t outsmart you. They out-fool you. After reading this book that is oh so true.
There are certainly a lot of rotten people out there and it is so easy to let your guard down, especially when con artists are so convincing and great at what they do. They know they have to earn the victim!s trust, and also know so many victims don’t want to be rude and cut them off when they should.
The author’s persistent attempts at bringing his scammer to justice was so fitting especially given his description of policemen dismissing his complaints (and those of other victims) as “not being a criminal act”. That was very disappointing when police ask the victims of such heinous crimes to take their complaints to a civil court instead of filing a criminal complaint. Kudos for the author being prepared and not taking no for an answer. He knew that the con artists fully expect the victims to not say anything to the police which keeps the scammers in business. Hopefully police take these crimes now more seriously now and in the future.
This is a very good and important book that everyone should read to learn the red flags of con artists.
March 13, 2025
This book was a real eye-opener. I guess because I've never been conned I didn't know a lot about this world but Johnathan Walton really exposes the inner workings of these scammers and it is both equal parts fascinating and terrifying.
The through line of the book is about the woman who conned Johnathan out of nearly $100,000 and how she was waving these "red flags" that she was a scammer but no one noticed. Especially Johnathan. But then expertly woven in and out of that main narrative are about a dozen or so recent real life con stories that Johnathan investigated so the pace of the entire book is always fast and interesting and changing. And wow the red flags in every case are totally obvious when Johnathan points them out but most people otherwise would not notice.
Case in point. I'm part of a knitting group where I live. We meet a couple times a week. And a few weeks ago a new member joined us. I now realize this person is waving a bunch of red flags that they might be a con artist. From Red Flag # 1 "I just want to help" to Red Flag # 12 "Stories from faraway places" it's uncanny. I've only known this person for a few weeks and everyone in the group thinks they're so cool and friendly and fun and exciting but now I'm very suspicious and will pay close attention to the situation.
The through line of the book is about the woman who conned Johnathan out of nearly $100,000 and how she was waving these "red flags" that she was a scammer but no one noticed. Especially Johnathan. But then expertly woven in and out of that main narrative are about a dozen or so recent real life con stories that Johnathan investigated so the pace of the entire book is always fast and interesting and changing. And wow the red flags in every case are totally obvious when Johnathan points them out but most people otherwise would not notice.
Case in point. I'm part of a knitting group where I live. We meet a couple times a week. And a few weeks ago a new member joined us. I now realize this person is waving a bunch of red flags that they might be a con artist. From Red Flag # 1 "I just want to help" to Red Flag # 12 "Stories from faraway places" it's uncanny. I've only known this person for a few weeks and everyone in the group thinks they're so cool and friendly and fun and exciting but now I'm very suspicious and will pay close attention to the situation.
November 11, 2025
After reading other reviews, I had high hopes for this book. In the end, I was greatly disappointed.
First - what I enjoyed:
1. The author does a good job of identifying common shared personality traits of a con artist and what to look out for.
2. Walton's writing style is very conversational and easy to read. No need to have an advance degree to understand anything in this book.
And that is everything good I can say about the book and why I gave it the two stars. Otherwise, I found everything in this book very repetitive and emotional overwrought. I have sympathy for the fact that Walton was scammed. It sucks. However, his insistence on REPEATEDLY telling the reader how traumatized he was by the betrayal, makes me think he should see a psychiatrist stat. I mean, he mentions it at least 3 0r 4 times IN EACH CHAPTER. To my mind, Walton sounds a bit unhinged and his crazed tone really diminished the validity of the pointers in the book. I skimmed through the last 5 chapters because I grew tired of his manic repetition.
I am happy that he has found his calling in exposing scams and con artists, as they need to be exposed and prosecuted. But he really needs to tone down the hysteria - or at least talk to a shrink.
First - what I enjoyed:
1. The author does a good job of identifying common shared personality traits of a con artist and what to look out for.
2. Walton's writing style is very conversational and easy to read. No need to have an advance degree to understand anything in this book.
And that is everything good I can say about the book and why I gave it the two stars. Otherwise, I found everything in this book very repetitive and emotional overwrought. I have sympathy for the fact that Walton was scammed. It sucks. However, his insistence on REPEATEDLY telling the reader how traumatized he was by the betrayal, makes me think he should see a psychiatrist stat. I mean, he mentions it at least 3 0r 4 times IN EACH CHAPTER. To my mind, Walton sounds a bit unhinged and his crazed tone really diminished the validity of the pointers in the book. I skimmed through the last 5 chapters because I grew tired of his manic repetition.
I am happy that he has found his calling in exposing scams and con artists, as they need to be exposed and prosecuted. But he really needs to tone down the hysteria - or at least talk to a shrink.
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