Yes, was certainly possible to dupe people in this way before the Internet. This Wikipedia page contains some relevant examples: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik

Yes, was certainly possible to dupe people in this way before the Internet. This Wikipedia page contains some relevant examples: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_entry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_entry As a side note, it'd be funny if one of the stories on that page turned out to be made up.