New technology has enabled cyber-crime on an industrial scale
A decentralised dark economy makes cyber-crooks more effective and harder to catch
NOBODY LIKES a call from the taxman. Donald Rumsfeld, who as America’s defence secretary oversaw a budget bigger than the economy of a typical country, nonetheless finds the rules so confusing that he writes to the Internal Revenue Service each year complaining that he has “no idea” whether he has filed his taxes correctly. So it is hardly surprising that, when the phone rings and an official-sounding voice says you have underpaid your taxes and will be connected to an adviser to pay the balance, ordinary folk tremble.
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Spam, scam, scam, scam”
From the May 8th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from International
Trump unmasks American selfishness, say cynics
But sceptics are wrong to call America First business as usual
Inside the Houthis’ moneymaking machine
After a ceasefire in Gaza, they may continue their Red Sea racket
Marco Rubio will find China is hard to beat in Latin America
China buys lithium, copper and bull semen, and doesn’t export its ideology
Donald Trump has a strong foreign-policy hand, but could blow it
Bullying foreigners can be sadly effective, but also a dangerous distraction
Women warriors and the war on woke
Trump’s Pentagon pick wants women off the battlefield
Young people are having less fun
Youthful excess continues to decline