From: scampbell @ gmail.com.cn
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Fwd: A Life Changing Experience!
Attachments: lifechange.pdf.vbs

WARNING!

If you receive an email with the subject "A Life Changing Experience!" please delete it immediately without opening it. Especially do not open any included attachments.

I was unfortunate enough to open a copy of this email. At first, I wasn't aware of anything happening. It certainly didn't destroy my hard drive or overwrite my files as other viruses are known to do. No, what it did was far more sneaky and malicious - and even now I don't know how the virus accomplished what it did.

The first indication that something was odd was in the evening when I next logged onto the computer - the colour scheme had been changed to a selection of pinks. I could choose other schemes, but as I found out on subsequent days, that was always the default and wouldn't change. OK, a minor irritant, but I could live with it.

However, far more serious changes were apparent when I logged into my bank. Although I hadn't lost any money, I'd noticed that it referred to me as MRS S Campbell, rather than MR S Campbell. I fired off an email to their customer service department, and was shocked when 15 minutes later came the reply that as far as their computer records showed, I'd ALWAYS been MRS S Campbell - there were no records of a MR S Campbell.

On a hunch, I then tried my utility supplier. Yup - I was MRS S Campbell there as well. Something very strange was going on...

To cut a long story short, as the week passed, I slowly came to the realisation that the virus had hacked into EVERY SINGLE electronic record of me, and changed ALL references to my gender, including title and pronouns. Even (worryingly) the tax coding letter that arrived from HMRC yesterday was addressed to MRS S Campbell.

Two weeks later, I found myself arrested on charges of fraud - as every electronic record of me apparently thought I was a female called "Mrs S Campbell", the powers that be had thought the only reason I could have paper documents in the name of a male called "Mr S Campbell" was if I had forged them (!) - despite the biological evidence in front of their eyes.

Matters weren't exactly helped when my solicitor informed me that although it was clearly evident I appeared to be male, it was "completely impossible" to change every electronic record of me - even those on systems not connected to the internet. Upon questionning him, he couldn't explain how it was possible for someone who appeared male, with paper documents claiming he was a male, to have a completely female electronic record from birth. He said there was no legal precedent, so it would be difficult to argue my case. Great.

So here I am, holed up in isolation in HMP Holloway for the next ten years of my life barring a miracle, the only parting advice from my solicitor being to change my appearance to match my apparent identity, as to continue to "pretend" I'm a male will only result in further imprisonment.

The warders here have been generous enough to allow me internet access, so I'm sending this to you as a warning to NEVER open an email with the subject "A Life Changing Experience!". Please forward this to everyone you know, so you can warn others before they fall into this trap. To further help spread the message, I've created and attached a poster to print out and display at your workplace.

S. Campbell

---

Authors note: I was thinking of writing this en-route to work this morning, so I couldn't help but notice the irony of receiving this in my work inbox...

From: COMPENSATION© 2010 <[email protected]>
Subject: Scam Victim Compensation ,($500,000)have been awarded to you. contact email with your Name,Age,Sex, Country,Phone Number and Address sent to Mrs Joan Cole,email:[email protected]