The "Have I Got Some Software For You" Story

Foreword:  Funny thing happened to me as I was writing this story.  The phone rang and I noticed it said UNKNOWN CALLER.  I answered it hoping I would get to share a few choice words with them and boy did I get that chance.  I could hear others in the background talking as the caller with a foreign accent told me he was calling from Microsoft and it seems that the security program on my computer has a problem.  I asked him if it was my laptop, or desktop.  He wasn't sure.  Then I asked him if it was my Toshiba or Dell.  "Says here it's your Dell," he told me.  It was at this time that I told him to wait a second while I get the police station on my other line so they can listen in on our conversation.  Instant dial tone!  I have no Dell!!

It was an ordinary day.  Hearing the account from my wife how the husband of one of her friends was the victim of an Internet scam.  Seems he was working on the family computer when a pop-up window told him that the security of his computer was breached.  It could be fixed online and all he had to do was dial the telephone number on the screen which he immediately did.  The problem was rather extensive and would take some time so he needed to send them $300 immediately.  He gave them his credit card number for the $300 charge to correct the problem.

Never mentioned it to his wife.  Not long after he got a second phone call from the same person telling him it was  more involved that they originally thought and they were working with Microsoft to correct the problem, but would cost an additional $500.  He was supposed to send a $500 Money Order to solve the problem or all his online banking and credit card accounts would be compromised.  Fearing the worst he hustled to the nearby CVS and got a $500 Money Order and sent it to the address he was told.  He felt relieved and then mentioned it to his wife.  She immediately thought something was fishy and told him so.  He became angry with her for not trusting people.  No one would try to cheat you he surmised.  Then, a day later, another contact was made by phone and he was asked to send an additional $2,000 Money Order to finish the payment.  His wife was listening to him talking on the phone and placed the call on speaker mode.  She listened for a short time with him and then told the caller he was scamming her husband and was calling the police.  Her husband was furious with her. The caller told them he was not trying to scam them or he could have put extra charges on the credit card.  She didn't bite like her husband and convinced him to go to the police station.  After looking a the phone number he had called, the police  explained to them that the phone number he was connected to was more than likely from another country and the strange accent he was hearing should have been a clue that it was a scam.  Well, he now realizes that he was taken.  They have had to change all their bank account numbers, their credit card numbers and email addresses.  He will probably not have to pay the initial credit card charge, but the Money Order will be a loss.  His trusting nature has been bridged and he now feels so embarrassed that anyone could do this to him. He's convinced that he was targeted because of his age, but his wife reasoned with him that they couldn't tell how old he was.  This is a true story and I have posted it as a reminder to everyone that Internet fraud and scams are rampant and no matter what your age, you must always be aware of what you do on your computer.  Don’t be afraid to share what you have done if you realize that you may have been scammed.  If you choose to keep it to yourself, you may cause someone else to be the subject of the same type of scam as you were.  Still OK to trust people, but make it a cautious trusting!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.