Just got the most interesting and disturbing phone call. Came from a guy who pretty obviously was not a native English speaker—I'd guess African offhand—and who was apparently having trouble operating a telephone. Wanted to let me know that his company's "technicians" had "observed" that when my Windows computer connects to the Internet "to transfer email" it is uploading and downloading stuff that doesn't look right… After pressing him and getting around his accent, I confirmed that he indeed does not work for Microsoft or for my ISP, but instead for desksense.com (no sense giving them a link), an apparently India-based company that claims to be a Microsoft partner.
I feel a bit violated right now, I guess. I mean, anybody who had less than a total clue might have given these folks money, or worse yet access to their Windows box. If their claims of monitoring my Internet email traffic are true (very unlikely, of course), Desksense is violating the US Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which carries large fines and potential prison sentences. If their claims are false, they are engaging in actionable fraud.
The big question, of course, is what I can and should do about it all. Advice appreciated. (B)