Is it extortion if someone offers to fix your computer, then charges more to get pornography off the site? Probably more than a few of us have felt that way when deluged with intrusive anti-virus software sales.
In the case of a recent blotter item in nearby Batavia, the sales pitch was more direct and probably a bit more scary.
The heading of the blotter item was "identity theft," but the practice is a lesson in whom to trust with fixing electronics.
According to Batavia police reports, a male subject contacted the victim in the 200 block of North Island Center and convinced her that her computer needed to be repaired. When she allowed him to access her systems, he went to a pornographic website, reports said.
The offender said she needed to pay $160 to get the virus off her system. The victim shut down her system and called police. The report was filed at 9:29 p.m. Aug. 9.
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