Tony Sales has been described as Britain's greatest fraudster. But after leaving behind a life of crime, he now uses his skills to help others.
Tony told us how he first became involved in fraud: "I started off when I was 12 or 13 going door to door asking people for sponsorship for fake charity events. When I was 16, I met a guy who was into credit card fraud."
"I can remember my grandmother finding £250,000 in cash and being flabbergasted."
The rise of the internet gave fraudsters a huge advantage, and Tony continued his criminal activities. Looking back on why he decided to go down this path, he says he had really low self-esteem during his childhood.
"I wanted to better myself and didn't know any other way apart from feeding an ego that got out of control."
When he was finally caught committing identity theft in 2005, Tony spent the next six years on the run. He was eventually given a 12-month prison sentence, and it was during this time, after seeing the disappointment of his family, that he decided to turn his life around.
"When I saw my wife and son, it was my first realisation that I'd actually let people down. I was approached to make a documentary which went viral, and from there it picked up. I started speaking at fraud conferences around the world and slowly built my name. Now I have my own company which specialises in helping consumers."
Tony says he's never been tempted to go back to his old ways: "Now I understand there are a lot of victims involved."
"No matter who you are, you can get caught. People end up losing their lives over this stuff."
