Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Robert Kerbeck has mastered the art of social engineering, or what he calls 'rusing', and taken it to a whole new level. In a world of too much information, Kerbeck has used that to his great success. --Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can B-list actor, A-list corporate spy.
Even as he built a respectable career appearing on loads of memorable 90s TV shows, Robert Kerbeck made his real money by lying on the phone, tricking people inside multibillion-dollar corporations into telling him things they definitely should not.
Kerbeck had found the perfect day job for an actor trying to make a living: playing a role.
Relying--in the days long before Google and LinkedIn--on both the safe distance and intimacy afforded by the old analog phone, Kerbeck would easily charm eager-to-please assistants over multiple calls lasting multiple hours. Kerbeck gained their trust along with total access to a company's most valuable and unguarded information, which could include the exact revenue of their firm's top rainmakers (as well as their unlisted phone numbers).
This shadowy intel was then provided, at tremendous cost, to the aboveboard executive search firms and corporations looking to pinpoint and poach top talent in a high-stakes game of Wall Street winner-take-all.
Kerbeck's once promising acting career tailed off as he burrowed deeper and deeper into the world of corporate espionage, to the point where his income jumped from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year. Until the inevitable crash...
Perfect for fans of Catch Me If You Can and The Wolf of Wall Street, Ruse explores the lies Kerbeck told, the celebrities he screwed (and the ones who screwed him), the cons he ran, and the millions he made--and lost--along the way.
Kerbeck has never revealed his hand, until now.
Synopsis
Social engineering, or scamming, is something I did at an early age. Robert Kerbeck has mastered the art of social engineering, or what he calls 'rusing', and taken it to a whole new level. --Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can B-list actor, A-list corporate spy
In the world of high finance, multibillion-dollar Wall Street banks greedily guard their secrets. Enter Robert Kerbeck, a professional actor who makes his real money lying on the phone, charming people into revealing their employers' most valuable information. In this exhilarating memoir that will appeal to fans of Catch Me If You Can and The Wolf of Wall Street, unsuspecting receptionists, assistants, and bigshot executives all fall victim to "the Ruse."
After college, Kerbeck rushed to New York to try to make it as an actor. But to support himself, he'd need a survival job, and before he knew it, while his pals were waiting tables, he began his apprenticeship as a corporate spy.
As his acting career started to take off, he found himself hobnobbing with Hollywood luminaries: drinking with Paul Newman, taking J.Lo to a Dodgers game, touring E.R. sets with George Clooney. He even worked with O.J. Simpson the week before he became America's most notorious double murderer.
Before long, however, his once promising acting career slowed while the corporate espionage business took off. The ruse job was supposed to have been temporary, but Kerbeck became one of the world's best practitioners of this deceptive--and illegal--trade. His income jumped from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year.
Until the inevitable crash...
Kerbeck shares the lies he told, the celebrities he screwed (and those who screwed him), the cons he ran, and the money he made--and lost--along the way.
Synopsis
Robert Kerbeck has mastered the art of social engineering, or what he calls 'rusing', and taken it to a whole new level. --Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can B-list actor, A-list corporate spy
In the world of high finance, multibillion-dollar Wall Street banks greedily guard their secrets. Enter Robert Kerbeck, a working actor who made his real money lying on the phone, charming people into revealing their employers' most valuable information. In this exhilarating memoir that will appeal to fans of The Wolf of Wall Street and Catch Me If You Can, unsuspecting receptionists, assistants, and bigshot executives all fall victim to "the Ruse."
After college, Kerbeck rushed to New York to try to make it as an actor. But to support himself, he'd need a survival job, and before he knew it, while his pals were waiting tables, he began his apprenticeship as a corporate spy.
As his acting career started to take off, he found himself hobnobbing with Hollywood luminaries: drinking with Paul Newman, taking J.Lo to a Dodgers game, touring E.R. sets with George Clooney. He even worked with O.J. Simpson the week before he became America's most notorious double murderer.
Before long, however, his once promising acting career slowed while the corporate espionage business took off. The ruse job was supposed to have been temporary, but Kerbeck became one of the world's best practitioners of this deceptive--and illegal--trade. His income jumped from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year.
Until the inevitable crash...
Kerbeck shares the lies he told, the celebrities he screwed (and those who screwed him), the cons he ran, and the money he made--and lost--along the way.
Synopsis
"Kerbeck's juicy memoir tells riveting tales with] the thrill of a spy novel. . . Kerbeck
bares all of his wild business secrets within the world of corporate espionage" --Foreword Reviews
Robert Kerbeck has mastered the art of social engineering, or what he calls 'rusing', and taken it to a whole new level. --Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can B-list actor, A-list corporate spy
In the world of high finance, multibillion-dollar Wall Street banks greedily guard their secrets. Enter Robert Kerbeck, a working actor who made his real money lying on the phone, charming people into revealing their employers' most valuable information. In this exhilarating memoir that will appeal to fans of The Wolf of Wall Street and Catch Me If You Can, unsuspecting receptionists, assistants, and bigshot executives all fall victim to "the Ruse."
After college, Kerbeck rushed to New York to try to make it as an actor. But to support himself, he'd need a survival job, and before he knew it, while his pals were waiting tables, he began his apprenticeship as a corporate spy.
As his acting career started to take off, he found himself hobnobbing with Hollywood luminaries: drinking with Paul Newman, taking J.Lo to a Dodgers game, touring E.R. sets with George Clooney. He even worked with O.J. Simpson the week before he became America's most notorious double murderer.
Before long, however, his once promising acting career slowed while the corporate espionage business took off. The ruse job was supposed to have been temporary, but Kerbeck became one of the world's best practitioners of this deceptive--and illegal--trade. His income jumped from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year.
Until the inevitable crash...
Kerbeck shares the lies he told, the celebrities he screwed (and those who screwed him), the cons he ran, and the money he made--and lost--along the way.
Synopsis
Winner of a 2023 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for Autobiography/Memoir "Kerbeck's juicy memoir tells riveting tales with] the thrill of a spy novel. . . Kerbeck bares all of his wild business secrets within the world of corporate espionage" -- Foreword Reviews
"Robert Kerbeck has mastered the art of social engineering, or what he calls 'rusing', and taken it to a whole new level." -- Frank Abagnale, author of Catch Me If You Can
B-list actor, A-list corporate spy. . .
In the world of high finance, multibillion-dollar Wall Street banks greedily guard their secrets. Enter Robert Kerbeck, a working actor who made his real money lying on the phone, charming people into revealing their employers' most valuable information. In this exhilarating memoir that will appeal to fans of The Wolf of Wall Street and Catch Me If You Can, unsuspecting receptionists, assistants, and bigshot executives all fall victim to "the Ruse."
After college, Kerbeck rushed to New York to try to make it as an actor. But to support himself, he'd need a survival job, and before he knew it, while his pals were waiting tables, he began his apprenticeship as a corporate spy.
As his acting career started to take off, he found himself hobnobbing with Hollywood luminaries: drinking with Paul Newman, taking J.Lo to a Dodgers game, touring E.R. sets with George Clooney. He even worked with O.J. Simpson the week before he became America's most notorious double murderer.
Before long, however, his once promising acting career slowed while the corporate espionage business took off. The ruse job was supposed to have been temporary, but Kerbeck became one of the world's best practitioners of this deceptive--and illegal--trade. His income jumped from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars a year.
Until the inevitable crash...
Kerbeck shares the lies he told, the celebrities he screwed (and those who screwed him), the cons he ran, and the money he made--and lost--along the way.