Tim Berners-Lee Conned By Web Scam?
from the that's-cold dept
Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the web, has now admitted that he was recently conned out of some money by a "fake company" that he found online, when searching for a place to buy some presents. While some will leap to the conclusion that "something needs to be done!" when even the web's inventor can become a victim of fraud online, I don't see how it's really any different than traditional fraud. People can and will get taken in by frauds. It's what happens. That the fraud happened online, or that it happened to the guy who invented the web hardly seems particularly meaningful here.
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Filed Under: scam, tim berners-lee, web
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"...when even the web's inventor can become guilty of fraud online..."
That makes it sound like he's been accused of committing fraud, not that he fell victim to it.
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Re:
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I guess proof that even the brightest people have blind spots.
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TBL
should be.. can be a VICTIM... of fraud online.
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Then why did you write an article about it?
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Re:
To quote specific parts:
"Berners Lee made the revelation as he spoke of his dismay at the medium's dispiriting lack of security."
"...with a helplessness that will strike a chord with the Web's growing number of less famous victims."
"That such an event could befall someone as sophisticated at Berners Lee is liable to be seen as a noteworthy irony."
"the fraud admission adds an extra layer of insult to his misfortune."
"but he didn't, in fairness, build it into the troubled medium it has become."
I recommend reading the linked to article so one doesn't read these comments out of context.
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Update this tewrrible editing!
*See ALL comments above.
Yikes!
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Guilty?
> that "something needs to be done!" when
> even the web's inventor can become guilty
> of fraud online
Berners-Lee isn't guilty of anything. He's the victim of the fraud, not the perpetrator.
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victim != guilty
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Scams
So many people mistakenly assume that scam victims aren't really that smart. Fact is many victims don't even come forward out of embarrassment. This just goes to show that anybody is susceptible no matter their level of intelligence.
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