Lying Their Way To The Top

Ever met someone who seemed a little too perfect—like they knew just a bit too much about everything? Maybe their stories didn't quite add up, or their resume looked like it had been sprinkled with fairy dust. It turns out that some folks take pretending to a whole new level. So, let's take a look at 20 master liars who made a career out of pretending.

Abagnale & Associates (Work for Hire) on Wikimedia

1. Frank Abagnale Jr.

In the late '60s, a teenage runaway convinced airlines he was a Pan Am pilot—all with a uniform and forged Pan Am ID cards. Abagnale’s ability to forge checks and credentials wasn't just about greed. He thrived on the thrill of slipping through cracks others didn’t see.

Marcus JB on Wikimedia

2. Victor Lustig

Selling the Eiffel Tower? A bold move. Lustig once sold the Eiffel Tower to a scrap dealer, posing as a French government official. This master manipulator used forged credentials and smooth talk to disappear. However, during his second attempt, the deal fell apart.

Page from a 1935 Philadelphia newspaper on Wikimedia

3. Ferdinand Waldo Demara

Demara once stepped onto a Canadian naval ship as a surgeon and performed real operations using textbooks he had read. His identity theft wasn't for cash, as he genuinely believed he could do anything. What he lacked in credentials, he made up in sheer nerve.

You Bet Your Life #59-08 Ferdinand Demara, "The Great Imposter" ('Water', Nov 12, 1959) by Groucho Marx - You Bet Your Life

4. Cassie Chadwick

Fake heiress to Andrew Carnegie's fortune, Chadwick swindled banks out of around $2 million in the early 1900s. Her deception thrived on power dynamics—bankers didn’t dare question a woman supposedly tied to the richest man alive. Plus, greed and gender stereotypes made her lies bulletproof for years.

Unknown photographer on Wikimedia

5. Anna Anderson

A Berlin asylum patient emerged in 1920 claiming to be Anastasia Romanov, who was the missing daughter of Russia’s last Tsar. Her knowledge of a few Romanov details was accurate. Royal supporters, desperate for hope, funded her. Hence, the riddle of identity lingered long after DNA disproved her.

Unknown author on Wikimedia

6. David Hampton

The OG inspiration behind Six Degrees of Separation, David Hampton, crashed lives. Claiming to be the son of Sidney Poitier, he charmed his way into Manhattan’s most elite homes and street cred. Smooth talker? Absolutely. Truth-teller? Not even close.

Six Degrees of Separation (1993) | Official Trailer | MGM Studios by Amazon MGM Studios

7. Frederic Bourdin

Nicknamed “The Chameleon,” Bourdin impersonated a few identities, including missing children. In 1997, he convinced a grieving Texas family he was their son. His lies were elaborate, involving fake scars and dyed hair. At the core? A desperate craving for love and connection.

Frédéric Bourdin Pretended to Be 500 Missing Children | Fakes, Frauds & Scammers by VICE Asia

8. Christian Gerhartsreiter

Few impostors create an entire lineage. Gerhartsreiter posed as “Clark Rockefeller,” even marrying and parenting under the name. He deceived wealthy individuals and eventually kidnapped his own daughter. The real story? He started as a German exchange student with big dreams.

Sneak peek: aka Rockefeller by 48 Hours

9. Princess Caraboo

Wearing a turban and speaking gibberish, Mary Wilcox convinced English high society she was a kidnapped princess from a distant island. Her charm disarmed skeptics. Behind the exotic persona, though, was a desperate woman escaping poverty.

The book's text by JF Nicholls (d. 1883) and John Taylor (d. 1893). Death dates citation: doi:10.1093/library/s1-V.1.86. Images by unknown engravers, and thus are PD due to age, per the relevant British legislation on Wikimedia

10. Brian Dennehy

Audiences admired his gritty roles—and his stories of Vietnam combat. Trouble is, Dennehy never saw battle. He later admitted fabricating his military service, blurring the line between character and reality. The deception exposed how easily public trust bends to a confident, familiar face.

Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer on Wikimedia

11. Enric Marco

Marco once stood before the Spanish Parliament as a Holocaust survivor. What he didn't have? Truth. He was never in a concentration camp; he stole the identities of real victims and crafted a heroic persona. Plus, his tale was doubted for the first time by historians like Benito Bermejo. 

Generalitat de Catalunya on Wikimedia

12. James Hogue

High school football star, valedictorian, and self-taught genius orphan—none of it true. Hogue invented the persona “Alexi Santana” to infiltrate Princeton, weaving a backstory of desert solitude. Stories of running alongside wild mustangs weren’t confirmed but added a poetic edge to his carefully crafted myth.

Police Dept. of Princeton, New Jersey on Wikimedia

13. Joseph Ellis

As a Pulitzer-winning historian, Ellis shaped how Americans viewed their past and then rewrote his own. For years, he told students he fought in Vietnam. He hadn’t. The lie distorted the authority behind his lectures. Even scholars aren’t immune to mythmaking.

slowking4 on Wikimedia

14. Anna Sorokin

Fake heiress, real bills. Sorokin scammed New York’s elite by posing as “Anna Delvey,” a German trust-fund socialite. Between 2013 and 2017, she duped hotels and financiers. Her lies were proof that wealth often hides behind designer sunglasses.

Sarahparn on Wikimedia

15. Rachel Dolezal

As NAACP chapter leader, Dolezal advocated for Black rights—while hiding that she wasn’t Black. Her artistic background helped shape the illusion. She tanned, curled her hair, and referenced a fictional Black father. Lastly, her exposure sparked debates about identity and lived experience.

Aaron Robert Kathman on Wikimedia

16. Brian MacKinnon

Being a young student, Glasgow posed as “Brandon Lee,” who was actually 30-year-old MacKinnon. In the '90s, he faked his age to re-enroll in high school and reapply for medical school. It was his obsession with academic success that led to a bizarre, ethically murky deception.

My Old School - Official Trailer by Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing

17. Konrad Kujau

In the early 1980s, Kujau forged Hitler’s diaries and sold them as authentic historical treasures. The hoax embarrassed historians and exposed a market obsessed with scandalous relics. His work fooled experts until forensic ink tests cracked the lie. 

Telephil on Wikimedia

18. Sante Kimes

Criminal ambition ran deep. Kimes, alongside her son, committed fraud, arson, and murder. She impersonated wealthy homeowners, forging documents to seize properties. Her sociopathy, fused with charm, turned every relationship into a tool. 

Sante & Kenneth Kimes Interview (1999) by Sante Kimes

19. Friedrich Wilhelm Voigt

In 1906, Voigt dressed as a Prussian officer, commandeered soldiers, and seized Kopenick's town hall. A cobbler turned criminal, he exploited the German obsession with authority. His con worked because people obeyed uniforms and not logic. 

Bain News Service, publisher on Wikimedia

20. George Santos

Elected in 2022, Santos admitted to fabricating much of his resume, college, jobs, and finances. His lies weren’t small, as they formed his public identity. In an oversaturated media landscape, he proved one thing: repeated falsehoods can still win votes.

U.S. House Office of Photography on Wikimedia