It seems to always happen, as soon as we sit down to dinner, the phone rings.

Carol grabbed the receiver and looked at the screen.

“You may want to take this,” she said handing me the phone. It was as if someone had overheard our conversation moments earlier. I had told Carol, I planned to work on our tax returns over the weekend.

The caller ID read “treasury department.”

Could it be a general notification of a change in forms….something  like that?

I decided to answer even though it would mean Ollie would have to wait before getting a morsel of the shaved steak and cheese with baked potato Carol had prepared.

“Is this John Howell?” the man on the end of the line said in an urgent tone.

I confirmed that it was.

“I need to inform you there has been a major breech of security.”

My mind raced to stories of stolen identities, bank accounts being electrically swept clean and tales of computers cleaned of information with demands of exorbitant amounts to have data restored. What if it was not just me? Could not only personal information by at stake but might this also infect the Beacon system and everybody using it.

“This demands immediate attention,” he said implying the ensuing doom if I ignored his warning.

“When was the last time you were on your computer?”

“This morning,” I said.

“Can you go on your computer now?”

I was getting a bit impatient, but suspecting a scam, I played along.

How do I know who you are, or that this is for real?

“That’s a very good question,” he  replied. “How else would I know who you are,” he said reciting my name, address, phone number and a number he claimed was a Microsoft  account number. It was convincing, but I still wasn’t going to log into my computer.

“I’ll have our (the Beacon) IT guy check into this.”

“Oh, you don’t have the time,” he pressed.

“But that’s what I’ll be doing,” I answered.

He persisted. “Mister John, this is serious.”

I had detected an Indian accent. Now I had little doubt this was a scam call. Who would say “Mister John” if this was a credible call from the US Treasury?  The call had been cleverly planned. In addition to the treasury department, caller ID gave a number with the Washington, DC area code.

“Thank you for your warning,” I said hanging up and returning to the dinner table.  Ollie looked happy to see me back. I lifted my fork and the phone rang again. Again it said treasury, but from a different number with the Washington area code.

I didn’t bother answering and the ringing eventually stopped.

Later I checked the computer. Nothing looked out of place. But, unfortunately I understand that doesn’t mean much today.