It’s not often I get actual, handwritten mail sent to me at the office, let alone from South Africa. So I was intrigued when the envelope above landed on my desk yesterday. Was it an invite to come and meet Nelson Mandela? Fan mail from afar? No, it was the worst phishing attempt in the history of mankind.

The full text of the letter enclosed is scanned below – click the image to enlarge:

Firstly, the sender appears to have a terrible grasp of the economics of phishing, sending his ill-written missive via expensive Air Mail instead of the virtually cost-free medium of email that the phishing purists prefer.

Secondly, Mr Blak Smit has specifically targeted the editor of a PC magazine. I’m not claiming that Cambridge is waiting for Stephen Hawking to cark it so they can wheel me in as the real brains of the outfit, but you’d surely credit the editor of a computing magazine with enough nous to see through this appalling attempt at spear phishing, wouldn’t you? (I heard that.)

I’d be tempted to reply from Steve Ballmer’s email address, but I’ve just heard from Microsoft. They want it back.