title: Rip-Off: A Writer's Guide to Crimes of Deception (Howdunit)
author:  Fay Faron 
description: Something tells us we would be nave to believe this book would appeal solely to mystery writers. Detective Fay Faron, syndicated newspaper columnist ("Ask Rat Dog") and author of <I><a href="/exec/obidos/ASIN/089879790X/${0}">Missing Persons</a></I>, has written a primer sure to turn any novice (writer, of course) into a scam expert. <I>Rip-Off</I> removes the mystery from such cons as the pigeon drop, Latin lotto, Gypsy-sweetheart scams, guaranteed-prize mailers, charity scams, bait-and-switches, biz-op scams, the Texas twist, identity theft, carny cons, chain letters, psychic hotlines, three-card monte, Ponzi schemes, 809 phone numbers, and gambling stings. Faron's writing advice focuses on identifying the basic traits of perps and pigeons (60 percent of pigeons are seniors, but we're all susceptible), defining the lingo (drag broad, shaky mom, mish roll, etc.), and counseling writers to "tell the story from the point of view of the victim." <I>--Jane Steinberg</I>
zlib_text: The Not So Secret Emails Of Coco Pinchard
  
  By
  
  Robert Bryndza
  
  
  
  
  
  Published by Team Bryndza Books, June 2012  
    
  For more information about the author, please visit
  [www.teambryndzabooks.com](http://www.teambryndzabooks.com)  
  [www.facebook.com/teambryndza](http://www.facebook.com/teambryndza)  
    
  Copyright © Robert Bryndza, 2012  
    
  Edited by Ján Bryndza  
  Cover Design by [Veronica Licakova](http://www.eyepie.tv)  
  e-book formatting by [Guido Henkel](mailto:bizdev@guidohenkel.com)  
    
    
  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either
  are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
  resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is
  entirely coincidental.  
    
  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976,
  no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in
  any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without
  the prior written