Crossing couple caught in Internet scam

Martin and Marsha MacInnis are smart people. They are computer literate. Like a lot of people, they didn't think it could happen to them.

The couple, who make their home in Stephenville Crossing, recently found themselves in the centre of an Internet security scam.

"Basically what happened was this pop up was coming up on our screen, from Windows Live, saying we had to renew our account," Mr. MacInnis said.

"We put it off, and then got two or three emails from Windows Live to our Hotmail account [both of which are owned by Microsoft Inc.]. We didn't pay too much attention to it. Then we noticed our computer was getting kind of slow..."

Mr. MacInnis says he discussed it with his wife, and they agreed that maybe they should fill out a form sent to them by who they thought was Windows Live.

The form asked for their name, the name of the account holder, the year of birth, country they were from, and their password.

"I found it unusual they wanted our password, but the icon on the emails said Windows Live. I said to Martin it must be okay," says Ms. MacInnis, who adds they noticed immediately that something was off.

"Usually when you type in your password, an asterik will come up for each character that you type," she says. "But in this case each letter came up, which was different. But we still didn't pay enough attention to that."

Once the form was filled out and sent back, the MacInnis' received an email from Windows Live thanking them for filling out the form, and to continue using their account as normal.

Right away, there were problems. They couldn't get into the Microsoft Network or their Hotmail account.

"We tried to change our password, we couldn't do it," says Ms. MacInnis.

By the next day, they knew something was definitely wrong. That's when the phone calls started.

"I started to get calls from our friends right across Canada asking if Martin was alright," she says. "I answered, 'yes he's gone to Canadian Tire, why?'

Whoever hacked into the MacInnis' account sent an email out to all of their contacts advising them Martin was travelling in the UK and had lost his luggage, passport and money. In the email, 'Martin' asks that someone send him $2,000 to help him get home, and he would pay them back when he could.

"Most people who called us said they knew the difference, they said surely if Martin needed $2,000, Marsha would send it off to him," she says.

Ms. MacInnis says two people called, offering financial assistance, which scared her. The couple immediately contacted everyone they could to tell them their Hotmail account had been hacked, and to disregard the messages.

What followed were days of trying to straighten out a mess they may never be clear of. Phone calls were made to Microsoft to report what happened, banks had to be contacted and alerts put on accounts, credit card companies had to be notified.

"The invasion [of privacy] is one of the big things," says Ms. MacInnis, "Because we don't know if in a couple of months someone is going to try and get credit under our identity."

What she says she and her husband are more concerned about is the private information contained in their Hotmail account, including medical information about the couple's deceased child, Caroline.

"As it stands we've been without our computer for over a week ... we're trying to accept the fact we may never get that information back. That's pretty tough," says Ms. MacInnis.

The couple says they don't want anyone else to go through what they are going through, and offer this simple piece of advice:

"Don't give your password to anyone. If there's any doubt in your mind something could be wrong with a specific email, it's probably because something is wrong with it."

reporter@thegeorgian.ca