The Original Phishing Scams

A century before the first internet phishing scams, there was the “Spanish prisoner” scam — which was roughly the same racket, but slower, by post. Postal shakedowns were a “simple, and sometimes effective, way of illicitly separating rich people from their money” in the 19th century. The sender of the letter declared that he was willing to give one-third of a concealed or sequestered fortune if the recipient would help him recover it. Then came the ask: Before the treasure could be recovered, the writer needed some money in advance to cover expenses. 

From “The 9 Lives of the Spanish Prisoner” by Erik Shilling for Atlas Obscura 

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