The dark web stole my life...

Last week, I picked up an evening paper and read that I was stuck in the Philippines without money after being attacked by ‘unknown gunmen’. As I was standing under a large London Underground sign on my way out to dinner with friends, I was reasonably confident the report wasn’t true.

But I did have an uneasy sense of losing grip on reality. That morning had begun with an unsettling phone call from a cousin in Jersey. A retired Army officer, he informed me that I had been hacked. He had received an email from my address, which told the same sorry tale of armed robbery in Manila.

The email went on to ask for money: ‘Presently having problems sorting out our bills here and also getting a cab down to the airport . . . ’ wrote my alter ego. ‘Wondering if you can help us get a quick loan to sort out our bills and get back home. All we need is 2,350.00 USD.’

I was heading to an appointment and decided it could wait. But I underestimated how fast these hackers from the ‘dark web’ worked. Within minutes, my BlackBerry pinged into furious life with a flurry of texts and calls as the email spread through my address book. Full story...

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