'Spy' cons 8 people out of £1m
In the entrepreneurial spirit, this man made a million with nohing more than his wits. Robert Hendy-Freegard has spent the last ten years cheating 8 people by telling them he is an MI5 agent.
Here is a simple rule to help people recognise people who are faking being a spy. If you say 'Are you a spy?' then every spy, across the world, is carefully trained to say 'no'. Saying yes can be devastating to a career in field intelligence. If someone says they are a spy, it's usually a good indication that they are not.
While it's easy to poke fun, I hope that, put in that position by someone convincing, I would be helpful too. I think that victims of people who exploit their stupidity deserve limited sympathy, but here, patriotism was being exploited, and that's pretty nasty. Technically, I suppose the man could have been tried for treason, and hanged.
Here is a simple rule to help people recognise people who are faking being a spy. If you say 'Are you a spy?' then every spy, across the world, is carefully trained to say 'no'. Saying yes can be devastating to a career in field intelligence. If someone says they are a spy, it's usually a good indication that they are not.
While it's easy to poke fun, I hope that, put in that position by someone convincing, I would be helpful too. I think that victims of people who exploit their stupidity deserve limited sympathy, but here, patriotism was being exploited, and that's pretty nasty. Technically, I suppose the man could have been tried for treason, and hanged.
Ah, now there's an argument. Obviously I disagree. I think the opinion that your country is better than anyone else's is stupid, but there's nothing wrong, and everything right, with being proud of your culture and the things that made you what you are. If someone suggests the security of people in your country is at risk, and you can help by doing X, then I think I'd do X, if I had reason to believe they were being truthful. But then I think I would do the same if Paris was under threat as if London was under threat, so it's not patriotism exactly.
Posted by
Matt |
Tue Sept 06, 05:21:00 pm