Mar 3, 2017
I was caught in this scam. They did take over my computer. It began while I was trying to to find a recording of a boy soprano singing Ave Maria (of all things). When I went to the first site Google offered, a pop-up appeared saying my computer had been hacked, but could be fixed. I then foolishly began a hour-long rigmarole with these guys that ended with their having $500 bucks of mine. VISA got that back for me. But it didn't end there. A month after VISA restored my money, I got a call from them saying they were going out of business and wanted give me my money back. I was curious and a little wiser, so after a complicated exchange taking another hour, I had $2500 of their money in my bank account. I quickly shut everything down, disabled Windows remote, shut the computer down, raced to my bank, changed my bank account, and now, six months later I just paid my VISA bill with their money. However, the phone calls have started again, but of course I don't answer. As Ogden Nash once wrote: "If a panther calls, don't anther."