In 1990, Clough and Paul Mungo, a journalist, wrote Approaching Zero a book that covered the activities of phreakers, hackers and computer virus writers. It was later published in North America and translations appeared in French, Spanish, Turkish and Japanese. Three incidents of credit card fraud described in the book resulted in much interest in the press. Further investigations resulted in articles on computer viruses, and investigations into 'phantom withdrawals' from ATMs and credit card fraud. These investigations culminated in the publication of Cheating at Cards which revealed 40 ways of fraudulently obtaining money from ATMs; and Beware of Your Bank in which he examined mistakes made by banks and explained how to detect errors, and how to obtain compensation. Sparked by a close interest in cryptology, he then turned to the strange case of Tyler Kent, an American national employed as a code and cipher clerk at the American Embassy in London, at a time when Great Britain was at war with Germany and America claimed to be strictly neutral. In May 1940, Kent was arrested, tried in camera and sentenced to seven years' penal servitude. Clough's book State Secrets: The Kent-Wolkoff Affair took advantage of privileged access to Government files and also the release of others under the Freedom of Information Act. Sixty-five years after the event, Clough finally revealed the 'real reason' for Kent's arrest and imprisonment – which was very different from the earlier versions in officially inspired publications. Clough appeared in the documentary Churchill and the Fascist Plot broadcast on Channel Four on 16 March 2013.
Personal life
Clough was educated at the Hulme Grammar School, Oldham and served his national service with the 10th Royal Hussars in Germany. He then worked in a variety of industries, mainly in engineering, before becoming chief executive for a major international company which allowed him to travel widely. He set up his own computer supply and maintenance company in 1983 which he sold out in 1990 in order to concentrate on research and writing. Clough married his wife in 1971 and they had two daughters. He now lives in Hove, Sussex.
