Everybody does it once.

 

Last Saturday morning I was feeling a little under par with a touch of hay fever.

The phone rang and a worried sounding lady with an ethnic accent said my computer was about to crash.  I grumpily told her I didn’t wish to take her call and hung up.

 

Almost immediately the phone rang again and the same lady – now quite incensed asked me why I had cut her off when they were trying to help me and stop my computer from crashing.  It was Windows and if I didn’t listen my computer would die and I would lose everything.

 

Alarm set in as I visualised my recently edited thirteen chapters of an ’An Imperfect Life’ being obliterated – as well as over ten years of my life.  I had spent the last ten days with ethnic sounding ladies who were kind, charming and lovely and I had been a bit rude to this one. 

Before I could apologise we started on one of those tutorials you get when you ask for help with various on line sites and I was lulled into a hectic sense of security – concentrating like mad and trying to follow her instructions.

 

Then she said she would get her supervisor to help me further and Mr Charm came on – also with an ethnic accent.

 

He spent quite a lot of time telling me I was right to be suspicious there were so many frauds on the internet but my computer had been attacked with so many viruses – he brought them up on my screen, named a particular virus and brought up Wikipedia to see their definition.  I knew my computer had been playing up daily since I had Windows 10 so I didn’t find it difficult to believe.  Also My Security Norton also has a moan from time to time but still happily accept my annual payment.

 

This went on for quite some time and then he said what they would do to counteract this so that my computer would be free for the rest of my life.

 

“And how much is this going to cost me,” I asked?

He brought the figures up on the screen:  £300 for three years and £400 for the rest of my life.

 

“Oh I couldn’t possibly spend that amount of money without consulting my sons!”

 

“ARE YOUR SONS TRAINED COMPUTER ENGINEERS,” he screamed?

He continued on a bullying rant and as I told him I was going to hang up but I was going to write about it on my blog his ranting and raving only ceased when I put the phone down.

 

Shaken and upset I phoned my nearest son in Wiltshire and after a few comforting words he told me to phone my Bank, phone the Police and then get our local computer engineers to pick up my computer.

 

The Bank was very helpful and I spoke to the Internet Banking Team who froze my account.  The Police –a sweet girl told me the Action Fraud Team were ace but as it was the week –end they weren’t there but there was a very comprehensive  internet form and we could do it together.  It took us half an hour but when she read it back to me it was a pretty accurate account and I was so grateful for her help.  It is important to inform the police as they give you a number and pass word which is helpful if you need to claim money from the bank.

 

These thugs target the old and the young; one young student in his twenties was convinced enough to give his bank details and lost money – half of which was refunded by his bank.

 

Five days later my computer is back – they found – very well hidden what they had left in the computer, my bank is back to normal and my self esteem is helped by my Hertfordshire Grandson telling me:

”Everybody does it once Grandma.”

 

P.S.  If I were one of you I would be shaking my head and declaring “I always hang up!” 
Just be warned!