I'm so glad you ended up ok. I am not tech savvy in the least, and my husband even less so. We were infected with the 'FBI' virus. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but DH did click on some kind of link. Comcast tech support spent a couple of hours with him to remove it. We still get a call almost once a week from 'Rachel' or whoever supposedly about a problem with our credit card, or from those kind folks at MSN tech support who have noticed a problem with our computer. One is a robo call and I just hang up. If it is a live person, I just put the phone down and let them spend some of their time figuring out I am not there. I'd like to think it slows them down a little.
We have had two very near misses with elderly family members. One was my mother, at the beginning of some rapidly progressing confusion. I happened to be there and she got one of those 'Grandma I'm in trouble' phone calls. Someone pretending to be a grandson, picked up for a DUI, sitting in jail, with a lawyer, and it will all be dismissed and go away if she can get him $1500. I told her it was a scam and to hang up, but she was sure it was my nephew. So while the scammer was 'getting his lawyer', I convinced her to at least ask him, to be sure it was him, 'what is your mothers, sisters name'. Of course he couldn't answer and hung up. Her response was - what if that was his one phone call from jail. I am so thankful I was there or they would have for sure had her credit card information.
Another was an 85 year old falling for the 'tech support' phone scam. Thankfully she can barely turn on her computer - I give her credit for trying to learn. It was taking so long, and she had an appointment so the scammer agreed to call her back the next day. Then she called me. I told her to just hang up the phone without engaging in any conversation. She was surprised to learn it was a scam.
I hate these predators. It must be working well enough, or they wouldn't continue. One time I was so fed up with the phone calls that I asked him how he lives with himself. I've told them I have a Mac. I've played along when I have time. Nothing keeps them from calling back again and again.
