What do con artists from the 1800s and modern-day hackers have in common? More than you think. While the tools have changed, the tactics haven’t. Welcome to the age of digital deception.

The Psychology of Trust… Exploited

Long before phishing emails and deepfake scams, deception was already a finely honed craft. In the 19th century, a man named William Thompson walked the streets of New York, charming strangers into handing over their valuables with a simple question: “Do you have the confidence in me to lend me your watch until tomorrow?”

He didn’t steal by force, he manipulated by trust.

Thompson’s victims were not gullible fools; they were professionals, businessmen, even aristocrats. They fell for what psychologists today call social engineering, the exploitation of human behaviour for malicious gain.

It’s no coincidence that we still call scams like these “confidence tricks.” Because they are.

Old Tricks, New Tools

Fast forward to today, and Thompson’s spiritual successors no longer prowl city streets, they sit behind keyboards. But their tactics haven’t evolved nearly as much as you might expect. They still rely on:

  • Urgency – “Your account will be locked in 24 hours unless…”
  • Authority – “This is HMRC. You owe us money.”
  • Scarcity – “Only 2 iPhones left at 90% off!”
  • Reciprocity – “Claim your £100 reward.”
  • Fear – “We noticed suspicious activity on your login.”

These are psychological levers we all respond to, because they’re hardwired into the human brain. The digital world has simply made these tricks faster, cheaper, and scalable to millions of inboxes at once.

What DECEIVED Reveals

In Andy’s book DECEIVED – Why We Click, Trust, and Get Hacked, he dives deep into how these timeless manipulations play out in a modern setting. What begins as a simple click spirals and exposes just how vulnerable we all are when trust is exploited.

Every point is grounded in real psychological tactics used by today’s threat actors. The book uses behavioural science to answer questions like:

  • Why do smart, informed people still fall for scams?
  • What makes trust so easy to gain, and so hard to rebuild?
  • How are attackers turning our relationships and emotions into weapons?

What Can You Do?

Understanding that you can be tricked is your first defence. Don’t assume intelligence or experience protects you – hackers exploit our human operating system, not just our software.

Here are three practical lessons drawn from the book:

  1. Trust isn’t always earned. Just because something feels familiar or urgent doesn’t mean it’s real.
  2. Pause is power. Scammers count on you clicking quickly. Slowing down can save you.
  3. Question authority. If a message uses fear, reward, or impersonates a trusted brand – double check.

Final Thought

William Thompson tricked people with charm. Today’s cybercriminals trick us with links, likes, and login pages. But the story is the same: humans are the most exploitable link in the chain.

Want to learn more?


➡️ Read DECEIVED – Why We Click, Trust, and Get Hacked



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