Tag Archives: samuel pepys

Phishing ain’t that new – Samuel Pepys got there first

Samuel Pepys is not often associated with Nigerian internet scams, yet there is an uncanny echo of modern problems in his own forgery of 1661. In August of that year the famous diarist recorded that he “counterfeited a letter to Sir W. Pen, as from the thiefe that stole his tankard lately”. A follow up letter offered to return the tankard in return for 30 shillings, a trick than William Penn fell for. Pepys retired to a pub to spend the 30 shillings drinking with his friends, where they were joined by the poor Penn who was – perhaps thankfully …

Posted in Books | Also tagged | 1 Comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Tom Arms
    Will the teachers be paid more?...
  • Matt Wardman
    On Transport, there is currently a fascinating 3 year project for public transport starting up in the Peak District called "Hope Valley Mini Switzerland", which...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    Sean, a really good article. One part of this deserves more attention: what AI could mean for small businesses. Running a small company often means doing alm...
  • Jana
    I’m afraid I disagree with Douglas MacDonald and his idea of turning Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen into city-states. I believe a better model is to have a g...
  • Nonconformistradical
    "There also seems a reluctance to focus on the effect that AI will have on the distribution of income and wealth." Quite...