I try not to make a habit of complaining, but this was just one of those days. I believe I have shared on more than one occasion that a computer geek I am not. It is so wonderful that we all have different gifts and talents, and I have a lot of admiration for those with great computer skills. But today there was no geek to be found!

The money Mike and I spend to keep a contract with the Geek Squad is money well spent, but what happened to me today was not good. The Geeks were patiently waiting for folks like me to call in with their computer problems, but I was in too much of a hurry. When I saw the word geek on the search engine I called the number. The foreign voice was polite enough. I was lulled into a false sense of security since I knew and trusted the company.

After giving the man on the other end control of my computer I started to feel uneasy. He began telling me I needed some expensive spyware, and a red flag went up. I said, “I already have spyware. Aren’t you from the Geek Squad?” He wouldn’t give me a straight answer, and I hung up. Quickly, I closed my computer down and paid very careful attention to get the correct number for my computer tech support.

The young man who answered the phone was most gracious. When I told him about what had happened he said, “Ma’am, this happens all the time. Other companies who don’t really know what they’re doing use parts of our name to trick people into buying expensive plans they don’t need or worse. I’ll check your computer out online, but you probably need to take it in to a store to let them check it out more thoroughly.”

After spending a little while on the phone with this young man he assured me that I didn’t have a computer problem that he could see. “It looks like you are having trouble with your Yahoo account. When we get off the phone give them a call and they should be able to help you get your email up and running.” I thanked the young man profusely and hung up with a false sense of security. I say false because my computer drama was not over for the day.

Very carefully I searched for the number to call for Yahoo mail help. Soon another man was on the phone with me and I foolishly gave him remote access to my computer. It wasn’t very long before I realized I was speaking to one of the same bunch of scammers. Two in one day! Can you believe it? When I started asking pointed questions this man actually hung up on me!

All’s well that ends well I’ve always heard, and I’m praying they didn’t do anything more treacherous than try to get me to purchase something I had no need for. Please be aware that there are unscrupulous people who prey on those of us with more limited knowledge of computers. Maybe a computer class is in my future. It certainly couldn’t hurt!

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.