Ben Carlson: How Not to Get Scammed

<p><p>Our guest this week is Ben Carlson, the director of institutional asset management at Ritholtz Wealth Management. A prolific and insightful writer, Carlson frequently publishes pieces on investing, personal finance, and other topics on his popular blog, <em>A Wealth of Common Sense</em>. In addition, he co-hosts the <em>Animal Spirits</em> podcast with his colleague Michael Batnick and is active on social media, including Twitter, where he can be found @awealthofcs. A CFA charterholder and graduate of Grand Valley State University, Carlson has authored several books, including <em>A Wealth of Common Sense</em> and <em>Organizational Alpha</em>. In today's episode, we'll be discussing Carlson's most recently published book, <em>Don't Fall for It: A Short History of Financial Scams</em>.</p></p><p><p><strong>Background</strong><br /></p><p><a href="https://ritholtzwealth.com/team/ben-carlson-cfa/" target="_blank">Ben Carlson bio</a> </p></p><p><p><a href="https://awealthofcommonsense.com/" target="_blank"><em>A Wealth of Common Sense</em></a><em> </em>blog </p></p><p><p><a href="https://ritholtzwealth.com/team/michael-batnick-cfa/" target="_blank">Michael Batnick bio</a> </p></p><p><p><a href="https://theirrelevantinvestor.com/podcast/" target="_blank"><em>Animal Spirits</em></a> podcast </p></p><p><p><a href="https://ritholtzwealth.com/" target="_blank">Ritholtz Wealth Management</a> </p></p><p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Fall-Short-History-Financial/dp/1119605164" target="_blank"><em>Don't Fall for It: A Short History of Financial Scams</em></a>, by Ben Carlson</p></p><p><p><strong>Scams: Victims and Perpetrators</strong><br /></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam" target="_blank">Nigerian prince scam</a> </p></p><p><p><em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Annals-Gullibility-Why-Duped-Avoid/dp/0313362165" target="_blank">Annals of Gullibility: Why We Get Duped and How to Avoid It</a></em>, by Stephen Greenspan </p></p><p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Po