Read the following article carefully now so you won't get taken to the cleaners later

So, this urgent warning pops up on your computer screen and it's warning you that your computer is infected! You've got to act right now! What do you do? Well, first you don't panic. Second you don't give anybody your personal financial information. It's a scam! Another way it works is that you get a call on your phone. The caller is warning you that your computer is infected. Right away they're trying to get your personal information.

The Pinellas Sheriff's Department was warning seniors about the sorts of scams they can fall victim to, and offering help. It was part of an effort to mark international fraud awareness week recently, which is all well and good but we suggest being alert for fraud all the time. There's really quite a lot of information about fraud on the Internet. You should check it out. Start with the story in The Gabber this week to get an overview. Here's a link to the Pinellas County Consumer Protection page. And finally, there's a video we came across that we just had to include. It's from the Federal Trade Commission's Tech Support Scams page and it gives you some insight into the scam crisis we were talking about at the beginning. Click the little box in the lower right corner of the video to  make it bigger and easier to watch, Be safe out there.