Sometimes sentences start off in the right direction but take a wrong turn and end up meaning something the writer didn't intend. A modifier may find itself attached to an alien concept, with the result that action is attributed to the wrong agent, or intention implied where none existed. Here is one example:

"After two months of swindling lonely Scrabble players of their savings, federal officials caught the handsome professor as he boarded a plane for Myanmar."

Dwindling governmental coffers notwithstanding, it's still shocking to learn that our elected officials have resorted to bilking innocent wordsmiths of their savings. Surely the real agent of mischief in this instance is the handsome professor, not our civil servants.

Perhaps this is a job for the passive voice: "After two months of swindling lonely Scrabble players of their savings, the handsome professor was captured by government officials as he boarded a plane for Myanmar."

Or break the information into two sentences: "Government officials caught the professor as he boarded a Myanmar-bound plane. For two months the handsome academic had eluded capture as he swindled lonely Scrabble players of their savings." Our next tip will look at misascribed intention.