Sacramento Woman Claims Dell's Computer Tech Stole, Published Nude Photos
Aug. 10, 2010— -- Tara Fitzgerald says she called Dell tech support for help with a computer problem -- and wound up with some very personal photos of her all over the Internet.
"When you trust somebody with your computer, and you expect them to respect your privacy, and they don't, and they try to manipulate and control you, you feel like an idiot," Fitzgerald, 48, told ABC News. "So you don't want to talk to anybody because everybody's going to think you're an idiot."
All this began in January of 2009, when Fitzgerald, a Sacramento native who worked as a caterer, says she called Dell's toll-free support line for assistance in locating some private photos she took of herself to send to her boyfriend.
"I couldn't find them on my computer. And that made me nervous. So my boyfriend and I called Dell tech to help us find these pictures," she said.
Fitzgerald says she was connected to a support agent contractor named Riyaz Shaikh, 22, who told her he was based in Mumbai, India. She says that Shaikh told her that he could help her locate the nude pictures, but that she needed to grant him remote access into her computer.
"I trusted him. I trusted him because he was a Dell technician," Fitzgerald said. "And I don't like the cyber world. You're so vulnerable."
Fitzgerald says she watched as Shaikh located her photos in her personal e-mail which she had open on her computer. She says she thought her problems were over.
A few weeks later she says she received an anonymous e-mail telling her that her risque photos were posted on a Web page completely dedicated to her. Fitzgerald said her reaction was panic.
"I've been violated," Fitzgerald said. " My life's been violated."
