Be careful...serious issue--no joking

I received two calls today.  SCAM calls.  A young man with a middle eastern accent told me he was from Windows and my computer was in serious trouble.  I told him I would have my son-in-law who works in IT take a look and to please remove my name from their call list.

He called back a couple of hours later and gave me the same information, telling me I had serious malware on my computer and that in order for him to help me, I needed to go to my computer and he would help me.

The hairs on my neck seemed to stand up on end.  I asked for HIS number and HIS name, telling him I would call HIM back.  He got a bit obstinate with me and said he would call me back at a more convenient time.  I refused that offer and asked for HIS number and HIS name again.  After a bit of a standoff, he finally gave me the information.

I phoned my son-in-law and he looked up the information I had and said it was INDEED a scam.  The caller's plan was to get me to go online, to a web conference site and they would try to "help" me with my computer by my allowing them to have remote access.  After that, my computer and all it's information was in their hands.

I called the FTC and filed a report.  They were very nice and understanding.  The gentleman there told me it was indeed an identity theft scheme.

Be careful...be very careful.  Evil lurks, but so does grace.  Pay attention to your instincts...it could save you much heartache.