MY ADVICE

Just when a person thinks they are on top of things something comes along to knock them off their safety perch.  That was me two weeks ago. 

It’s all good now.  Besides my nerves being rankled and the huge chunk of Humble Pie I’ve had to digest there was no harm done.  But I feel like I can’t lay it completely to rest without telling my story.  Hopefully it will save others a similar experience.

I was hacked.

Not the almost every day occurrence of a Facebook friend request from someone I’m already friends with.  I know how to respond to that one – delete the bogus request and private message them (I can do that because we are already friends) to give them a heads-up to change their password.

Neither was it one of the countless emails from “Costco” wanting to give me a big, juicy coupon, or “Sasktel” or “Sask Power” saying my bill isn’t paid, or “Canada Post” saying they are unable to deliver my parcel until I pay a fee.  I know about all of those scams and I delete them immediately.  Knowledge is power - to click on any of those links invites thieves into your computer and your life.  I have fantasised about there being software that allows the target (me) to send code back to the originating computer and have it blow up in the hacker’s face, but as to yet I don’t think it’s been invented.

The one that got me was more sophisticated than that, although hardly uncommon.  When you sit down with your banking representative and say the words ‘microsoft scam’ and she leafs through a stack of papers until she comes up with one entitled Microsoft Scam, you know you’re not the first one to come to her in a panic.  Knowing that you are not alone eases some of your embarrassment at being duped.  Seeing them take charge with what has to be done next is also very reassuring.

It all began with me clicking on what I thought was a news story.  Something about palaeontology, fossilized bones, scientific research – I’m interested in that kind of stuff.  The news story was the bait, and I bit.

SUDDENLY there were a stack of pop up screens in front of me with the top one expanding and contracting rapidly while a woman’s voice LOUDLY warned me that my computer had been compromised.  This was the one and only time they were honest – the pop up warning was indeed compromising my computer.  Everything after that was a lie, starting with the warning “If you shut down your computer you will lose everything on it.”

But with the never-ending loud warning, the spazzing pop up that I couldn’t click away, and the threat of losing everything on my computer, panic set in.  My only hope seemed to be the offered toll free phone number for the trusted name “Microsoft”.  A rational brain would have taken time to think about this but they had me at an emotional level … I called the number.

From there a very professional-sounding guy asked me questions, assured me he could help, and instructed me to check my online banking to see if anything was amiss.  It wasn’t, of course, there was nothing the thieves could do until I revealed my information to them … which I did because I trusted that I was the only one who could see what I was looking at.  He had me do some Windows diagnostic tests to make it look legit.  He told me not to talk about it to anyone until he called back and a whole bunch of other crap I should have known better than to believe.  On the call back he escalated the panic by saying the only way to protect my money was to change it over to a digital wallet (which he was going to be very helpful to set up for me – only I suspect that it wouldn’t have been in my name). 

Long story short, I decided to talk to somebody I trusted and they reaffirmed all the warning bells that were going on in the back of my mind.  Even though the “Microsoft” guy and his associate “CIBC” guy he had forwarded my case file on to had both warned me not to talk to my personal banker that’s exactly what I did … and as soon as she heard the word “Microsoft” she said “identity theft” and we began the clean up.  It wasn’t her first rodeo.  I sure as heck hope it’s my last.

So now, what have I learned from this?  That it’s just another hack to be aware of and that being fore-warned is to be fore-armed.

Since this happened I have taken the time to ask Google about the “Microsoft Scam” and was shown a video on how to shut the pop up down.  I would advise everyone to check it out now so there is no hesitation when confronted with the nasty lady shouting at you when the pop up appears (and you can shut her up by just turning down the volume on your computer – it will help you think clearly).  I’ve also been told that you don’t have to shut your computer down, just unplug your Internet.  What you need is time to think things through.

DO talk about it with others.

DO keep your computer virus scans up to date (although I thought mine was)

DO go immediately to your bank if you get sucked into this evil vortex – they are ready to help you.

And, if you get the chance, create the software needed to trace evil back to the hacker who started it – and have the whole thing blow up in his face.