In the fall of 2001, a whole new chapter started in my life when I was introduced to literary agent David Fugate. David thought my story was extraordinary. He quickly contacted John Wiley & Sons and proposed that I author a book on social engineering to help businesses and consumers alike protect themselves against the kinds of attacks I had been so successful at carrying out. Wiley showed enthusiasm for the deal, and David recommended a seasoned coauthor named Bill Simon to work with me in developing the book, which came to be called The Art of Deception .