Fraudster to Business Advisor | Elliot Castro Keynote Talk at Disruptor Day 2023

Описание: Elliot Castro, our keynote speaker at Disruptor Day, has a unique background—he went from being a scammer and fraudster to becoming a business advisor. Today, he helps companies avoid falling victim to scams. Let's delve into his story.

Twenty years ago, Elliot spent two years in prison due to his involvement in a five-year-long crime spree. Growing up in Glasgow, he got into fraud at a young age when he found a credit card on the floor in a train station and used this to try and buy his train ticket. This marked the beginning of his fraudulent activities.

At the age of 16, Elliot got a job in a call centre, where he noticed he had access to lots of sensitive information and he began to keep a list of customers’ credit card details. After losing his job, surprisingly for being late and not for any criminal undertakings, he took his list with him and disappeared off to Manchester. He began to make small purchases like CDs and haircuts, but his fraudulent activities really stepped up when he discovered the value of corporate credit cards, as he could buy things of large value without any questions being asked. His purchases become much larger and more extravagant. His schemes took him internationally, until eventually he was caught in Canada.

After spending time in a Toronto jail, he was deported to the UK. However, he managed to escape the authorities' notice at the airport and returned to Glasgow. Despite facing some nail-bitingly close calls and challenges, Elliot continued his fraudulent activities, but he began to get complacent. Eventually getting caught in Edinburgh after he purchased £2,000 of gift vouchers at Harvey Nichols.

Since his release in 2005, Elliot has turned his life around. He wrote a book titled "Other People's Money" about his experiences and now shares his story at various events, whilst helping businesses understand and prevent fraud.

Find out more by watching the video.